Altering my colour palette via an analysis of paintings from The Reality Exhibition

'My slight obsession—especially with this series—is flat color. How you can use one color that makes everything else sing. When I got the green in Lennie [2008, which refers to the main character in Of Mice and Men], it didn’t sit and it didn’t recede—it was just between. It did just what I wanted it to do, but I didn’t know what I wanted it to do until it appeared. It’s slightly intuitive. In a way that’s not lifting another artist, it’s just me being intuitive.'

Art in America, Dexter Dalwood, David Coggins, Jan 2010

Dexter Dalwood, Lennie, 2008, Oil on Canvas

I have been thinking about the use of my colour palette in relation to my paintings. My natural tendency is to use bright colours squeezed directly from the tube which are subsequently applied unmixed to the canvas creating a very pure, clean and bright colour ensemble.

I am wondering what the effects would be of changing or altering my palette by reducing the hues in order to create more of a naturalistic colour scheme. What are the implications of using bright vs naturalistic colours and how is this directly conveyed to the viewer?

'...in the end it all lies in the heaviness of the paint not in the lightness. The big dark or light areas become almost more important than the figure. I would mix up a bucket of yellow, and start by laboriously filling in... I don’t want to tell a story; the paintings I like best become abstract at some level... Sometimes it is all about a colour – a black or browny-black, then shadow.'
Bloomberg Space, Chantal Joffe interview, May - July 2004

 Within my more recent tondo collages I have attempted to reduce my palette using black and white imagery as well as tones which are more muted and subtle than many of my more recent paintings. This also corresponds to the change in aesthetic language which I have employed as a way of altering my visual style.

In a previous blog entry I have examined the use of colour directly relating to the works of the fauves, Pierre Bonnard and Peter Doig all of whom share an affinity for using bright colours. I am however curious to examine other contemporary practitioners for whom colour is an important element within their practice and the affect that it has on the way in which the image is interpreted.

'I try to render the membrane of oil paint as if it is an actual outer membrane of skin; in particular the semi translucent and smooth quality of it. The tondo and oval format further the idea of the body image as a complete world (rather than a small portion of skin that can be logically added to) and as an object which can be looked through. Warm and cool colours are juxtaposed and blended to create a subtle perceptual vibration, which makes the surface seem animate/alive.' Concrete, Portrait of an Artist: Gwen Hardie talks about her work an upcoming exhibition at the SCVA, Katie Kemp, September 2014

I took a second visit to the Reality Exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre with a view to examining the colour palettes of the contemporary painters who were displaying their work in order to see what impact this had on the subjects that were being portrayed, below are some of the notes I made alongside the individual paintings that I was observing:

Caroline Walker, Illuminations (2012), Oil on Canvas.

Makes use of a naturalistic colour palette, with a predominance of greens and blues, but also greys, whites, browns and reds. The viewer is drawn into the composition via the curved window situated on the right-hand side of the composition. The painting relies on flat planes of colour which are loosely handled in some areas but more detailed in others, also makes use of drips and smears which work as an effective contrast to the flat areas. 

Jock Mcfadyen, Tate Moss (2010), Oil on Canvas.

Paint is applied thickly to the surface of the canvas, using mainly browns and turquoise colours. Some areas of the composition are very detailed and precise whilst other areas are applied in a much looser and less meticulous fashion. The use of paint helps to create an impression of dereliction, which encompasses the theme of the subject. Browns and blues/turquoise complement one another effectively. The effect is exaggerated via the thick daubs on the building facade.

Chantal Joffe, Untitled (face) (1994), Oil on Canvas.

The Canvas is made up of reds, yellows, whites and black (small amount.) The composition is created using non-naturalistic colours, while the subject matter itself appears to be half formed. The white features of the face of the figure staring directly at the viewer appears to have only half formed features creating an impression of ambiguity or melting. Overall effect is disconcerting and uneasy, which is heightened by the use of non-naturalistic colour and the deliberate blurring of the features.  

George Shaw, Scenes from the passion (the path on the edge) (1997), Humbrol Enamel on Board.

A very shiny painterly surface helps to add to a sense of perfection. The colours used are very naturalistic, combining with the subject matter of a curving path and the fence posts minus the fence. The composition is mainly dominated by nature however the houses in the background and the fence posts combine to create a slightly sad, ghostly and brooding feel, compounded by the lack of people. Whilst appearing very lifeless the shiny surface gives off an appearance of perfection. 

Clive Head, Looking Glass (2014), Oil on Canvas.

Interior of a cafe next to a street. Colour exaggerated to a certain degree, makes use of strong reds, blues, greens and also oranges and pinks. The composition has the appearance of two photographs superimposed on top of one another. The faces and heads of the figures are pointing simultaneously in different directions. Along with colour scheme combines to create the effect of a reality that has been exaggerated. Seems although the painting captures a 5 second period of time rather than an instant in time. 

Anthony Green, The bathroom at number 29 (1979), Oil on Canvas.

The unconventional use of a non-rectangular canvas alters the viewers expectation of a picture composition. By using a (loose) diamond shape, it forces the viewer to take a second glance at what is happening within the composition. The very intimate domestic scene depicted of a wife bathing her husband is seen from a fly on the wall perspective which is strangely voyeuristic yet touching. The colour combinations of yellow, blue and white are mildly uncomfortable and garish exaggerating the voyeuristic element. 

Gwen Hardie Body 06.29.11 (2011) Oil on tondo, 03.30.09 (2009) Oil on oval, 03.20.12 (2012) oil on tondo.

The colours used are blended very smoothly on the canvas of the tondos and the oval which help to accentuate the ideas of otherness although being observed from a third party perspective. It is not immediately obvious what is being observed. The sickly, slightly garish nature of the colours are not totally naturalistic and it takes a while to register that it is the human body which is being depicted. The oval and round formats add to the impression that they are removed from reality as it is not apparent which parts of the body are being recorded. However the titles and further observation make is clearer. 

John Keane, Inconvenience of History II (2003), oil and inkjet on viscose on linen.

The composition makes use of naturalistic colours, however there appears to be a clear divide between the colours that are used in the background and the colours of the two figures seated in the foreground. The background is painted in a very loosely washed style while the figures are more detailed, creating the impression that the focus is firmly placed on them as opposed to the scene within which they are seated. The division between the foreground and background is further accentuated via the bright colours that are used to depict the figures plus the yellow and blue chairs upon which they are seated which contrasts with the background consisting of muddy browns and muted whites and greens. 

Dexter Dalwood, Grosvenor Square (2002), oil on canvas

Blacks, greens, blues and whites make up the composition. The paint is handled very naively, however the simple colours and forms make for a very simple and quick interpretation. A lack of perspective and also very little detail means that the scene appears to be very naive and rendered very simply and quickly. The composition seems much less formal that many of the other paintings in the exhibition, with the focus being on the statue at the centre of the composition, which stands out from the trees and grass on which it is sitting. 

David Hepher, Tree 2010-11, oil, acrylic, inkjet and concrete on canvas x3 panels.

Very large painting, roughly 6m wide and 2m high. Very muted colours have been used which combine well with the thick use of paint, the concrete and the graffiti sprayed on to the surface. Title of tree seems to be ironic as the majority of the composition is made up from a council estate and flats. The subject matter is very bleak and would appear to correspond more to urban deprivation or poverty than the tree. The tree depicted has no leaves, which when combined with the materials used and the use of graffiti adds to the overall bleakness and depravity of the scene.

For each of the artists which I have observed within this exhibition colour plays a significant role within their work. It is worth noting that it is not only the colours being used that are significant but the interplay between the colouration, subject matter, application of paint, scale and the attention to detail with which the paintings are treated. In Caroline Walker's painting: Illuminations, she makes use of a naturalistic colour scheme. However it is the peculiarity and voyeuristic element of the women standing behind glass that makes the viewing experience uncomfortable. We the viewer are on the outside looking in.

Anthony Green also provides a voyeuristic element within his paintings, although on this occasion it is a domestic scene that the viewer bears witness to and the intimate, touching affection displayed (we presume) between a husband and wife. In this case the colouration of the piece combines well with the unconventional use of a skewed diamond composition as a way of framing the scene. Rather than rendering the scene uncomfortable in the same way as Walker's piece the garish use of yellow and blue within the piece lends it a kitsch, unfashionable sensibility in keeping with 1970s love of woodchip wallpaper, artex ceilings and garish interior decorative colour schemes of the decade that the painting was created. In this instance we feel although we are in the room caught up in the display of affection and included as part of the proceedings. 

All of the paintings featured which contain the human figure employ some kind of pictorial device in order to accentuate, clarify or separate the figure(s) within the composition. John Keane renders the figures in the foreground of his painting in a much higher level of detail than the blurred background which he combines with a pronounced, elevated coloration scheme. This creates an effective division between the foreground and background concentrating the viewers gaze towards the two figures. Clive Head's painting Looking Glass treats the whole of the composition to the same high level of detail and clarity, employing a mildly exaggerated colour scheme, which combines with the visual impression of a passage rather than moment in time to create the effect of a photograph whose lens has been left open longer than intended to create an image with an abundance and overlay of visual information. Chantal Joffe's combination of non-naturalistic colour and naive rendering of the subject matter create a feeling of dislocation and mild unease on account of the familiar being presented in an unfamiliar fashion. 

Rough sketches for exhibition, audience and archiving.

Preparing for the interim show at NUA has made me think about how painting is able to communicate its underlying message and content to an audience and how this message may often be lost in translation or open to interpretation, depending upon who the audience is, who the work was created for or the context in which it is being shown. Similarly how is work relating to an artist's career preserved in order to keep a record of their underlying processes and ideas for future generations?

In the same way that a writer may take a series of ideas and weave them together into a novel, a painter attempts to bring together often disparate, unrelated concepts within a painting that if successful accurately reflects the artist's intentions. Below is a diagram that I have drawn up representing some of my main research interests which I hope are encompassed within my recent tondo pieces:

A diagram indicating some of my main research interests within my recent practice

For this series of ideas to be formed into a finished, coherent art piece, they will be filtered through my own knowledge of art and reflections on the world and processes that are happening, or have happened in it directly relating to my practice. For example my interest in the sublime may in part be influenced by the work of Caspar David Friedrich, otherness to the writing of Michael Foucault, place to Lucy Lippard and the process of walking to the writings of W G Sebald all of which I am attempting to combine and synthesize under and within the umbrella that constitutes my practice.

Sketch of hypothetical exhibition space, with two tondo discs on opposing walls

Once taken out of the context of the artist's studio and placed within a gallery context how does this alter the original message and ideas which underpin the work? If the work is dealing with complex and unrelated themes then it is possible that this interpretation will be down to the viewer who may be able to place a particular aesthetic value onto the work. However when it comes to an interpretation of the artist's underlying meanings and intentions this may not be such a straightforward process. The viewer inevitably will attempt to place their own cultural bias, value and worldview on to the art piece which is more than likely to be different to those of the artist who created it. This therefore prompts a further consideration of who is the audience for the work?

'Different kinds of audience theories emerge which are given various distinctions. First an audience might figure as the relatum of some real relation in which the work of art stands, or an audience might figure as the object of the artist's intentions. second the relation to an audience might be an actual or dispositional relation. Third different features of an audience might be important: perceptual experience, understanding pleasure, or emotion. Fourth different audiences might be in question: the audience might be some select group such as the 'artworld' or it might be the whole of humanity.' Nick Zangwill, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 57, No. 3, 1999 
  
As a way of providing information about an exhibition there will often be some form of platform to introduce key themes whether it is an artist's statement, an exhibition title, a press release or a manifesto imparting the collective rationale behind the exhibition. Depending on the way these are structured and written they should provide a much clearer summary of the intentions behind the work and act as a signpost in order to illuminate the artist's ideas and intentions.

In 2009 the artist Edward Chell chose to exhibit his paintings in four Little Chef restaurants in Kent. The work he chose to exhibit was inspired by a summer drive down the M2, which he described as taking him back to childhood memories of country lanes, or a lost idyll. In choosing to exhibit the work outside of a traditional gallery context Chell explained his reasoning in relation to his audience as follows:

'For me these present a fascinating paradox - the motorway network presents a nightmarish vision of the asphalting of our green and pleasant land, but these roadside habitats also amount to an unofficial national nature reserve. I want people to see them on their way to and from their cars and catch a glimpse, a fleeting vision of these places they might never have noticed, but which surround them on their motorway journeys.'  The Guardian, Are audiences killing art and culture? Sarah Kent, 2009.

Edward Chell, The Garden of England, Little Chef Tour, Oil on Shellac on Paper, 2009

Edward Chell, sitting in front of one of his paintings in a Little Chef in Kent, 2009

I appreciate the fact that Chell has chosen to show his paintings outside of the context of a 'conventional' gallery space. The audience would be vastly different however the choice of the Little Chef restaurant bears a strong resonance to the places depicted within the work, whilst the message he is attempting to convey would have a strong bearing on the audience frequenting the Little Chef restaurants.

Sketch of hypothetical exhibition space, featuring a series of smaller tondos orbiting around a central larger tondo.


Ideas relating to audience will be affected by the context in which the work is displayed, in turn affecting the manner in which it is interpreted. If the work is displayed as part of a group show of paintings, themed around place then this will be the main focus of interpretation for the viewer. If it was included in a mixed show made up of painting, sculpture and printmaking relating to ideas around nature and the sublime then the interpretation would change again. None of this takes into consideration when the artwork is exhibited be it 10, 50 or 100 years after its creation, placing a significant bearing again on its interpretation due to the changing values and thought processes of that period. 

  

Damien Hirst's diamond-encrusted skull, For the Love of God, 2007 consists of a platinum cast of an 18th-century human skull encrusted with 8,601 flawless diamonds. The work was placed on its inaugural display at the White Cube gallery in London in an exhibition entitled Beyond belief with an asking price of £50 million. At the time this was the highest price ever asked for a single work by a living artist. This would be a significant factor in attracting an audience and although when Hirst created the piece he intended it to be a 'Memento mori' or reminder of the mortality of the viewer, it is likely that the media frenzy surrounding the large asking price would be the main calling card in terms of attracting an audience. 

Damien Hirst, For the Love of God, 2007, Mixed Media, platinum, diamond, human teeth

Sketch of hypothetical exhibition space, featuring two opposing circular paintings encompassed within a square format.

I would like to take some time to consider what happens during and after an exhibition in terms of archiving the work. As a painter and 2-dimensional artist I choose to document images of my finished work via a website using photographs of individual pieces. This may include documenting work whilst it is in progress and critically reflecting on it via an artist’s blog or sharing it on social media platforms such as facebook and twitter. 

However works of art can reach beyond the time and the geographic place of their creation, as a way of preserving information. An archive may contain physical works of art, digital documentation, evidence of artistic practice or records tracing accomplishments, hurdles and other facets of an artist’s life including, letters, diaries, speeches, sketchbooks, business records, press coverage, catalogues, photographs, audio or video recordings, oral history transcripts, and other materials. These are all ways to preserve primary source material for researchers for years to come.

Archives are often connected to libraries, universities, historical societies and museums. Archives today may contain both material (physical) and digital records. Digital-only archives are emerging as an important way to preserve the legacy of many visual artists, especially those whose careers have not included significant exposure in traditional museum venues. In some cases as well as the  addition of digital images of they may contain, original works of art. The defining criteria relate to the mission and purpose of that particular archive.

Postcard with artist's statement for the interim exhibition at NUA

Collage to Painting: Richard Dadd and Yinka Shonibare

'And if it is true that the image still has the function of speaking, of transmitting something consubstantial with language, we must recognize that it already no longer says the same thing; and that by its own plastic values painting engages in an experiment that will take it farther and farther from language, whatever the superficial identity of the theme.' Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason, Michael Foucault, 1961, pg 15.

Within this entry I am interested in exploring what happens during the process of painting and how this contributes to the artist's delivery of the underlying content in their work via the analysis of the paintings of Yinka Shonibare and Richard Dadd. Initially it may be worth considering why use the medium of paint? A visit to the Reality exhibition at the Sainsbury’s Centre in Norwich a show of contemporary British painters reveals that painting is still very much alive as a contemporary medium. The show focuses on artists whose work is underpinned by an interaction with the real world as opposed to conceptual concerns. However it begs the question why and how is this preferable to using a photograph, collage or alternative 2-dimensional representations? How does painting alter, extend and elaborate the processes that these other mediums offer?

Two contrasting artists whose work I have been exploring and loosely tie in with some of the ideas around which my own practice is centred are Yinka Shonibare (1962- ) and Richard Dadd (1817-1886). In Maxa 2003, Shonibare substitutes canvas for small regimented circles of African batik fabric decorated on the front and side. The troubled history of the fabric, which was introduced to Africa by British manufacturers via Dutch colonizers in the nineteenth century contrasts effectively with the visual pleasure of the patterns created. The work becomes a metaphor for excess and exploitation. The use of everyday cloth to create high art acts as a way of questioning the relationship between commercial decadence and third-world exploitation.

‘But actually, the fabrics are not really authentically African the way people think. They prove to have a crossbred cultural background quite of their own. And it’s the fallacy of that signification that I like. It’s the way I view culture- it’s an artificial construct.’  Art News online, interview by Pernilla Holmes, October 2002

Yinka Shonibare, Maxa 2003, Circles of partially painted fabric on a deep blue wall.

Richard Dadd’s work centres on landscape and nature and draws upon subject matter often evoked from his memory. Many of his paintings utilize surrealist imagery and alternative worlds and include dream figures, fairy creatures and demons. Whilst travelling in Egypt in 1842, Dadd underwent a dramatic personality change becoming violent and delusional. On his return in 1843, he was diagnosed to be mentally unstable before killing his father. Subsequently he was committed to a psychiatric hospital where he continued to paint.

‘On my return from travel I was roused to a consideration of the subjects which I had previously never dreamt of, or thought about, connected with self… I know not whence they came, although I could not question their propriety, nor could I separate myself from what appeared my fate…’ Biography of Richard Dadd, Patricia Allderidge, 2006

Richard Dadd, The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke, 1855-1864, Oil on Canvas.

It is worth noting the fashion with which both Dadd and Shonibare have utilized their materials in order to accentuate the underlying meaning within their work. Both are dealing loosely with ideas around otherness. 

'Otherness is a fundamental category of human thought.  Thus it is that no group ever sets itself up as the One without at once setting up the Other over and against itself.'

Women, the Family, and Freedom: 1880-1950, Simon De Beauvoir, 1949, pg 423

Shonibare’s work is brightly coloured, sumptuous and decorative drawing in the viewer’s gaze. It is only upon further investigation that one realizes the back-story and associations of the fabric that has been used. The corner less circles Shonibare uses to frame his compositions are much less formal than a conventional rectangular format. By utilizing both the front and sides of the objects however they come to represent a visual metaphor for what is at the centre or at the margin thus establishing an informal hierarchy and relating back to his original concerns around race and class.  

Yinka Shonibare, Line Painting 2003, emulsion and acrylic on Dutch Wax printed cotton & painted wall.

Dadd’s otherness is a product of his separation from society due to his mental breakdown, incarceration and classification as a madman and subsequent perception of existing outside of the realms of civilized society. His paintings are highly stylized and filled with microscopic details, intricate decoration, rich colours and formal compositions featuring figures occupying a variety of landscapes. It is only on closer inspection that it is possible to make out who these figures are and what activities they are engaged in to realize that these are no ordinary pastoral scenes. The figures are a curious mixture of pantomime Kings, Queens, pirates and fairies mixed up with people who could have stepped off a mid-Victorian street. Many of the characters have distorted heads and further observation reveals other miniature figures that magically appear within the compositions. Perspective appears to be practically non-existent and the result is both simultaneously beautiful and disturbing. 

Richard Dadd, Contradiction; Oberon & Titania, 1854-1858, Oil on Canvas.

Both artists operating in different centuries have utilized paint in an opposing yet highly effective fashion to vastly differing ends. Dadd’s paintings achieve something that would be impossible via any other medium. Not only has he created painstakingly detailed and intricate compositions, his paintings render in detail the product of the inner workings of his feverish imagination. The act of painting enables Dadd to articulate his feelings and give a form to this inner turmoil. This is not something that could be achieved as effectively via a collage or a photograph. The attention to detail, perfection and visual aesthetic beauty and strangeness of his compositions combine to draw in the viewers gaze so that they are able to contemplate and examine the complexities of the work without necessarily understanding it or having to pass a value judgment on it. If this serves as an effective tool to capture and draw in the curiosity of the viewer then it is possible that this may prompt a further dialogue within the viewers mind as to what the artists intentions were in creating the work and enabling a more complex analysis.

Shonibare makes use of pattern and texture in a non-representational fashion as a way of conveying his message. His bright, showy colours are highly seductive and appealing. His pieces unlike Dadd’s however are not representations that have been taken from the real world and are created using patterns and abstracted forms arranged in such a fashion as to create a formal sense of unity via the harmony of the painted surface. However once drawn in it is only after realizing that the relationship of the cloth to the painted surface has such a strong bearing on the composition that the viewer begins to realize that there is more going on than just a superficial and decorative rendering of paint. Once the viewer realizes the importance of the origin of the cloth it changes the relationship between the artwork and the spectator in a similar fashion to the background story around Dadd’s mental breakdown and subsequent incarceration. In both of the artists’ work the painted surface acts as a way of capturing and enthralling the spectators gaze, however it is only after scratching through the surface of this polished and veneered facade that it is possible to realize the true message, commentary and artists intention lurking below.

Analysis of tondo collages based around Sheringham Park and Old Catton Park

Within this blog entry I wish to analyse the components which make up my more recent works in order to test whether they are effective in achieving my aims. Since visiting Sheringham Park and gathering images as part of my research I also took a trip to Old Catton Park in Norwich also conceived and landscaped by Humphry Repton. The new collages which I have created are loosely based around both of these parks, making use of photographs taken during my respective visits.

Fragments, Mixed Media Collage (based on photos taken at Sheringham Park), 57 x 57cm.

Why use the tondo?


I have found that the tondo has been an effective tool within my recent work as a framing device for the compositions. My most recent works, utilize Sheringham Park and Old Catton Park as my subjects with the circular composition taking on a number of functions.

Round and spherical things in nature are considered to be perfect, complete and stable. Within the context of these works the circle simultaneously unifies and works in opposition to the composition, which consists of disjointed/disparate planes and discordant/unharmonious colours.

A round or spherical composition is an effective way to depict another world. In this instance the other world is that of C19th Victorian England encompassing values, which are no longer applicable to contemporary society including a regimented, divided class system and ideas around power, dominance and colonization. The circle helps to accentuate the otherness of the compositions, making them appear although they are being observed through a portal, or window, which captures a particular moment in history.

Study from Old Catton Park, Mixed Media Collage, 37 x 37cm.

A round or ‘concentric’ system places an emphasis on matter/force of some kind being concentrated around a center, such as planets circling the sun, children round their mother or the fruit of a peach around its pit. By using a circular frame to surround the subject rather than a conventional rectangle or square format it places extra weight on the composition as a self-contained unit around which we the observer must navigate. 

Nick Cave's (1959-) piece 'constellation' is a sequined and beaded work, inspired by a memory from his childhood of looking up to the stars with his brothers on a summer night. He recalls exclaiming:

'It's right there look, it's the place of innocence where something so mundane can be so transformative.' www.denverartmuseum.org/article/staff-blogs/tondos-installation-images

Cave created his tondo pieces in order to create the impression of independent worlds, dispensing with issues relating to judgement:

'The work hides gender, race and class, you're forced to come to the work without judgement. That's the bottom line. We live in a world that wants to categorize and put things in a particular place.'
www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/entertainment/arts-theater/nick-cave-whose-works-are-at-norton-museum-uses-ar/nMB63/

Tondo, Nick Cave (2012) Mixed Media

Constellation, Nick Cave, 2006, Mixed Media

 

Why use images that have been collaged and coloured red?

Fragments I, Mixed Media Collage (based on photos taken at Old Catton Park), 57 x 57cm.

Using collage within my work involves taking reproduced images from the real world and manipulating and combining them in order to create art forms. Not only is this able to be carried out relatively quickly and efficiently, it also allows for the imagery to be combined with painting, drawing and other visual forms as well as providing the potential for manipulation of the printed subject matter via burning, cutting, tearing and layering.

In creating these pieces I was dealing with issues relating to memory, place and walking as well as the underlying processes around which memories are formed. Sebald’s account of walking and observing the landscape leads to large sink holes opening up in his sub-conscious mind triggered by the landscape, which he just steps into evoking his own graphic description of human suffering, loss and trauma. The act of creating a collage alludes to the process of a layering of memory constructed via the passing of time, whilst simultaneously allowing for the potential of slippage into a sub conscious realm via the juxtaposition of imagery.

'There are things in that paper which nobody knows but me, or ever will. Behind that outside pattern the dim shapes get clearer every day. It is always the same shape, only very numerous. And it is like a woman stooping down and creeping about behind that pattern. I don’t like it a bit. I wonder—I begin to think—I wish John would take me away from here!' The Yellow Wallpaper and selected writings, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 2009, pg 13

I was partly inspired by the short story the yellow wallpaper written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 1892 telling the narrators story of being confined within a bedroom in order to recover from her nervous depression. On account of her confinement she begins to descend into psychosis, becoming obsessed with the colour and pattern of the wallpaper. In the end she starts to believe there are women creeping around in the wallpaper and that she is one of them. By tearing, burning and juxtaposing different imagery within my collages I hoped to create a visual impression of disorientation on account of the different shapes and images which appear within the collage.

I have manipulated the surfaces of the pieces by placing together imagery, photographed by myself of Sheringham Park and Old Catton Park. Both parks were designed by the English landscape architect Humphry Repton and were designed with ideals strongly relating to the picturesque and its association to the beautiful and the sublime. Within my compositions I have presented this as fractured and discombobulated, so that it is hard to decipher in a literal fashion, whilst balancing precariously on a background of red in the case of the tondo inspired by Sheringham Park and Grey in relation to the tondo inspired by Old Catton Park. I sought to invoke a sense of brooding, melancholy and the feeling that the sub-conscious mind is operating below the veneer of the landscaped exterior. The backdrop of the compositions contrast effectively with the greens that make up the foreground symbolizing nature and relating to the picturesque.

What are the pieces about and do they actually deal with these things?

Study from Sheringham Park, Mixed Media Collage, 37 x 37cm.

My original intention for making these pieces of work and the original three pieces tied in with ideas relating to walking, memory and place with a strong influence derived from W G Sebald’s Rings of Saturn and the idea of the landscape acting as a trigger for other often darker subconscious memories and associations. 

'I suppose it is submerged realities that give to dreams their curious air of hyper-reality. But perhaps there is something else as well, something nebulous, gauze-like, through which everything one sees in a dream seems, paradoxically, much clearer. A pond becomes a lake, a breeze becomes a storm, a handful of dust is a desert, a grain of sulphur in the blood is a volcanic inferno. What manner of theater is it, in which we are at once playwright, actor, stage manager, scene painter and audience? W G Sebald, Rings of Saturn, 1999, pg 79-80

Although related this differs from the pieces I made which dealt with ideas relating to invasive species. Whereas the invasive species collaged tondos served to illustrate the changing values and meanings of objects within the landscape as well as acting as a direct metaphor for Victorian colonization, I hoped that the collages inspired by Sheringham Park were related more to the idea of place memory.

In creating these pieces they raise a number of questions: what do large parks and estates like this tell us about the values and ideals of society around the time they were created and how do these translate into the values and meanings recognised in contemporary society? What are the darker and less desirable elements lurking beneath the decorative surface of the estates and landscaped gardens of the aristocracy?

I see these pieces functioning as a sketch or a test for more substantial finished pieces, constructed on a much larger scale with the possibility of introducing more painterly areas alongside the paper collage. By working on a larger scale it would open up the possibility of making the pieces more immersive with the creation of more discernible tension between the foreground and background.