WARATAH BLOOMING ON THE MISTLETOE

nervousSYSTEM

I've been in the work zone since I last wrote here - I've made the work for my upcoming exhibition 'nervousSYSTEM' @ Gallerysmith in North Melbourne Nov 10 - Dec 10 2011.
Here is my artist statement to go with this work:

This past winter found me in a frightening place. My own body, the bodies of others, even landscapes I treasure – under attack; Illness, injury, the threat of death. Events demonstrated that eventual confrontation with tragedy is inescapable. Tragedy is essentially a part of life, just as predation belongs in life. 

My artists’ task then was to find visual equivalence for the experience inside my body; the nuanced throb of adrenaline and fright, pulsing into the tiniest branches of my nervous system, a deep primal anxiety of annihilation persisting in my psyche and expressed as the surge and flutter of hair triggered impulses- escape! survive!

Making the work, I've understood how important, how truly vital is the art of metaphor. The act of creating these images, of taking dried up twigs and desiccated straw and forming them into pictures, has made a space for fear in my life. I found myself shifting into a new acceptance of its presence.

And witnessing the delicate and responsive light sensitivity of the paper I soften and find compassion for the depth of my feelings, accept that sensitivity must amplify sorrow, and I hear how the heart calls for a willing vulnerability and the courage to feel.

As this process metaphorically revitalised the plants, so my feelings have been transformed.

I've learned how, under cover of darkness, hope grows back, forging its way through tiny capillaries, and developing tender new roots.


titles in order below
escape
entropy
predator
sap