Aboribus/25.10.19
left Image: Installation view (Arboribus, painting 145x125cm, and multiple cloth sculptures, varying in dimension, October 2019.)
Right Image: Installation view (Arboribus, Paintings from left to right, 145x125cm, (x2) 103x75cm and multiple cloth sculptures, varying in dimension, October 2019.)
This work explores the connection between soft sculptural forms and a formally stretched painting. The painting is acrylic and oil paint on cotton. The sculptures are made from similar varieties of fabrics, all hand dyed with turmeric, paint and ink.
Exhibited as part of our “Week 5 Exhibition”, 2019.
I am interested in the relationship of the elements in the installation, and how the shape and movement of the sculptures are similar to that in the painting. Although they are cloth, they still seem to hold painterly qualities.
The layers and different styles of brush strokes in the painting make for a dynamic push and pull between light and shadow, and foreground and background. The stream of light in the centre of the painting highlights the young, delicate tree as if it is some kind of God. This could be linked to seeing nature as God, or something to worship, as typically beams of light like this in paintings through art history, have a religious connection.
(Arboribus, 145x125cm, Watercolour, Acrylic, Oil and Pastel on linen, October 2019.)
Images Above: Close up of Soft Sculptures and Installation from Aboribus, October 2019.
Images Below: Abbie Smith, Reference photographs, The Forest of Dean, 2019.
Sourcing reference material and inspiration from place is a very important part of my process and to me is where the artwork starts. I will walk through the forest and document it by photography, video, drawing and paying attention to my senses, an almost psychogeographical approach. The term psychogeography was defined by Merlin Coverly in his book “Psychogeography” in 2010 as, “the study of specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organised or not, on the emotions and behaviours of individuals”[1]. What I find particularly interesting that is discussed, is how the act of walking can be used as a tool to “seek out the strange and otherworldly within our midst”[2]. Enacting this method in my own practice helps me really focus on the place I want to depict. The paintings are not just a visual representation, but more an interpretation of how that place makes me feel, with elements of nostalgia.
[1]Coverley, Psychogeography, 2010, page 10
[2] Coverley, 2010, page18
