‘Somewhere between perception and reality’
An exhibition first presented at VUE 2018, Ireland’s National Contemporary Art Fair (1-4 November, RHA, Dublin)
Olivier Cornet Gallery, opening Sunday 9 December 2018 runs until 17 February 2019
For VUE 2018, I have used oil and acrylic paint on a domestic dining table place mat, a small mat underneath a persons dining plate, used to protect the table form the heat of the food. I collage fragments of former paintings together to form a textured background on which the place mat lies. The standing women are framed within the mat to create a collective group composition of painted out identities, inspired by the famous Astronaut Wives photograph on the cover of Life magazine, September 21 1959. The group composition is familiar yet allows the viewer to bring their own interpretation of truth and reality to the table. I painted a hooded pillowcase effect on their faces to suggest a neutrality within the group, perhaps under threat, in need of some protection, menacing as this may look but collective in their cause suggest Guantanamo Bay prisoner's, the Pussy Rioters, the Women's Rights' movement and #MeToo campaign. Their reality is considered in this painting and how it is perceived is open to interpretation.
An exhibition first presented at VUE 2018, Ireland’s National Contemporary Art Fair (1-4 November, RHA, Dublin)
Olivier Cornet Gallery, opening Sunday 9 December 2018 runs until 17 February 2019
For VUE 2018, I have used oil and acrylic paint on a domestic dining table place mat, a small mat underneath a persons dining plate, used to protect the table form the heat of the food. I collage fragments of former paintings together to form a textured background on which the place mat lies. The standing women are framed within the mat to create a collective group composition of painted out identities, inspired by the famous Astronaut Wives photograph on the cover of Life magazine, September 21 1959. The group composition is familiar yet allows the viewer to bring their own interpretation of truth and reality to the table. I painted a hooded pillowcase effect on their faces to suggest a neutrality within the group, perhaps under threat, in need of some protection, menacing as this may look but collective in their cause suggest Guantanamo Bay prisoner's, the Pussy Rioters, the Women's Rights' movement and #MeToo campaign. Their reality is considered in this painting and how it is perceived is open to interpretation.
