References relating to the End of Year Exhibition Group Crit
MA End of Year Show (2024) [Exhibition]. Camberwell College of Arts, London. July 2, 2024 - July 6, 2024.
This photography MA student used raw pigments on a photograph to create a vivid tree.
Pollock, J. (1947) Full Fathom Five [Oil on canvas with buttons, keys, coins, nails, tacks, matches, and cigarettes]. Museum of Modern Art, New York City, United States (Viewed: 14 November 2024).
Jackson Pollock made large gestural paintings dripping paint. His works contain an energy. His paintings do not depict a particular landscape, but rather an atmosphere. I am interested in the artist's psyche; as a working alcoholic it could be argued that Pollock's works reflect his state of existence. I see dainty-lined chaos.
Dean, J. (2020) Holding Together [acrylic on linen]. Private Collection (Viewed: 16 November 2024).
This painting certainly contains an element of the Surreal. I like movement has been brought into an otherwise still room, through the factory clouds and splashing sea. Contrasting with this is the almost sinister black hole in the floor and square of black in the wall like a silent room at night. However, there is a sense that you could flip the room around and the floor would actually be the ceiling. I am reminded of Magritte's Personal Values (1952) with its cloud-covered walls. South Parade Gallery writes 'Judith Dean's paintings question ways in which we look at images and art', 'Using her non-writing hand' and 'found pictures on the internet' (2024). In summary, Dean's works are psychological, 'By painting numerous images within one painting, Dean distracts or prevents us from focussing on one subject - making us aware of both the mind’s natural control and society’s.' (ibid).
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The tutors shared this artist with me in response to ideas of controlling, or not controlling a medium.
Magritte, R. (1952) Personal Values [oil on canvas]. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (Viewed: 16 November 2024).
Shaw, G. (2004-2005) Ash Wednesday [Humbrol enamel on board]. British Council Collection (Viewed: 16 November 2024).
This painting depicts the crossover between the homely and the magical. The scene is undoubtedly British from the architecture, to the frank depiction of patchy grass leading up the the front door. Yet there's a lushness to the pea green where the light falls on the rest of the front garden. The thick tree trunk stands majestically, echoing the green tones. The branches are like those of an enchanted forest, thinning to spindly branches which are illuminated in the light. It resembles a stretching figure which looks up at the sky. I am reminded of the tree which comes alive in Harry Potter and the spindly legs of the elephants in Dali's The Temptation of Saint Anthony (1946). On capturing the mundane with soul, Shaw said 'I get perturbed by people who have meaningful epiphanies in expensive places – who go to India, Goa, New Zealand, watch a glorious sunset to find themselves. If you can’t find yourself in your own back yard, you’re not going to find yourself in the Serengeti, are you? So for me, it was taking those cliches of epiphany and the sublime and putting them in a place where great thoughts aren’t rumoured to happen.' (Maruani Mercier, 2024). Figes refers to the title of this painting, Ash Wednesday - ' Raised as a Catholic, Shaw's work often uses titles that refer to the Bible or the life of Christ, for him a source of inspiration.' (2020). There is a sense of nostalgia in Shaw's paintings, 'Although the human figure is generally absent' (ibid); Shaw writes, 'The people I grew up with, family, passers-by, they are all in there somewhere, embedded in the paintings.' (2020).
Dali, S. (1946) The Temptation of St. Anthony [oil on canvas]. Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium (Viewed: 22 November 2024).
Nash, P. (1941) 'Laocoon'. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/archive/items/tga-7050ph-1121/nash-black-and-white-negative-laocoon (Accessed: 23 November 2024).
In Unit 3 I have been looking at trees with organic forms which are strange, striking and creepy. This photograph is similar to those I have taken of dead tree roots for Neon Green Roots Triptych. The black and white negative brings out the depth of the bumpy form. Laocoon's form is much like a butterfly reminding one of the Rorschach test and how shapes of other things can be imagined in the fluid organic. The backdrop to the tree stump is of beautiful tall trees and rising land, giving the subject the appearance of being bizarrely dead and mangled, evoking themes of the war and fallen soldiers. Nash had experienced WWI and WWII and had similarly photographed a crashed plane, Cowley Dump, 1940 (TATE, 2024) (Informal Beauty: The Photographs of Paul Nash, 2016). Perhaps there is a theme of destruction behind the beauty.
Nash, P. (1940) Black and white negative, Cowley Dump. Available at: https://www.tate-images.com/MC0254-Black-and-white-negative-Cowley-Dump.html (Accessed: 23 November 2024).
In the Summer holiday I visited Rome and took this photo of the statue of Laocoon and his sons which Nash references as the name of his black and white negative. The organic form is similar to the sculpture in the way that it rises at the sides, much like how the sons flank their father as they writhe in the grip of the sea serpent. The myth ends in the death of the father and sons in the setting of the Trojan War.
Work which inspired me at the UAL Summer Shows
Camberwell College of Arts End of Year Exhibition (2024) [Exhibition]. Camberwell College of Arts, London. 10 June 2024.
I am interested in fluidity and have been experimenting with fluid-solid mediums. The colour black is symbolic of Mortality, nihilism and gothic aesthetic in my practice and this artist also creates a darkness to the ripples in their inspiring sculpture. There was a boldness to this work, from the large metal hanging water container coming down from the ceiling (which I saw a student top up with water, to the symbolic, timeless use of the circle. Although the water container is shallow and almost puddle-like, the blackness of the ripples creates the illusion of great depth, bringing to mind a vast lake as easily as the container at the viewer's feet. There was a rawness to the materials in the installation - water, metal and soil or stone grains; water and soil are certainly the elements which bring life. The way the water ripples was imitated by the grains on the floor reminded me of the meditative buddhist art of raking the ground in Japanese Zen Gardens called karesansui 'dry landscape gardening' (Desktop Tranquility, 2024). This work certainly had a reflective, hypnotic quality when watching the ripples.
Chelsea College of Arts End of Year Exhibition (2024) [Exhibition]. Chelsea College of Arts, London. 6 June 2024.
This painting from a series of paintings of women in sombre scenes by a student at the End of Year Exhibition at Chelsea College of Arts has been on my mind. Perhaps I saw myself in the character who has long brown hair like me. The different fantasy scenes involving women seemed more than fantasy - to evoke the struggles of womanhood through vivid yet sombre scenes involving animals and an Angel. I felt the characters had a vulnerability. The women did not look happy except for one character smiling naked on the floor beneath an Angel, but this interaction made me question whether she was in fact dead. There is an uneasy stillness to the scenes, especially where one pale woman stands with water up to her shoulders fully clothed; it is hard to tell if this is a peaceful bathe in water or a drowning. I feel like I've entered a morbid fairy tale. The character above has doll-like hands and arms and ghoulish dark circles around her eyes, creating a creepy ambiguity between human or toy. The dark background adds to a sense of night which is perhaps shadowing her face. Is it a scene from a dream?. Does the blackness represent Depression?. The surface looks textured, bringing the scene to life and making the skin more unnerving. The animals in the scenes appear to be a peaceful presence; yet there is still a scariness and dead-ness to the horse's red eyes and big cat's sharp fangs. Is the big cat a pet or a symbol of something more sinister?. In my Practice I also use black backgrounds with contrasting vivid colours like fluorescent green.
Camberwell College of Arts End of Year Exhibition (2024) [Exhibition]. Camberwell College of Arts, London. 10 June 2024.
Continuing the theme of nature, creepiness and animals, I was drawn to how this student had painted this grinning green cat which reminded me of Alice in Wonderland's Cheshire cat which both scared and intrigued me as a child. It was part of a larger painting involving large-eyed, sweet looking animals. There is something unnerving in how it has been anthropomorphised; its eyes are human, alert and inviting but its wise grin with thousands of teeth gives the impression of a carnivore which should be avoided. This Summer I visited Casis and looking out over the sea I could not help but think about sirens and the concept of something being beautiful, human-appearing and seductive but also manipulatively dangerous and frightening. Sirens are a strange combination of the animal and human.
Apollo and Daphne
Berini, G,L (1625) Apollo and Daphne [marble]. Borghese Gallery, Rome (Viewed: 18 August 2024).
Continuing the theme of mythology, the strange and nature/human hybrids, Berini's sculpture of Apollo and Daphne, which I visited this Summer, depicts the metamorphosis of Daphne into a Laurel tree. It was incredible to see this sculpture in person. The Greek myth is about Apollo seeing the nymph Daphne and being shot by cupids arrow; he pursues her desperately but she wishes to stay a virgin and prays to her father Peneus, the river god, for help, "Destroy the beauty that has injured me, or change the body that destroys my life". Her prayer is answered and she is turned into a laurel tree, but Apollo is still attracted to her and says "Since you cannot be my bride, you must be my tree!.....you will wear the beauty of undying leaves." (Borghese Gallery, 2024). The dainty leaves and twigs on her fingers are incredibly life-like; as the light shines on them an illusion of transparency is created. There is a sense of rushing and panic for Daphne and the sculpture is described as having great movement (ibid). Her arms are raised as her hair flies theatrically upwards; the curliness of Daphne's hair appears almost bark-like from a distance. I was shocked to see how her toenails are long, oddly turning into roots. The suspense and urgency to escape Apollo's touch and desperation to transition into the tree quickly is emphasised by how her feminine foot is lifted, running, but also seemingly attached to the ground below already.
Experiential Research
Experiencing Nature is central to my research. I often take photographs and videos on my phone when I encounter organic forms which interest me. The photographs are then printed in A3 and used to paint from. My Practice is currently leaning towards roots with strange, creepy and striking forms.
Unruly Roots
The entanglement of Daphne's feet and the roots reminded me of the intimate routine of looking after my terrarium. The tree should outlive me and it is said that looking after it brings good luck to the carer. It is meditative interacting with a tree from the solitude of my bedroom, on a small scale, unlike the experience of looking up at tall trees in gardens and parks. Often my tree gets thirsty and I find it gripping to the condensation on the glass with water shoots or mini roots which entangle its branches. It makes a cruel ripping sound as I remove them, but it's what's needed for the tree to thrive. I feel in touch with the cycles of nature, removing its dead leaves, water shoots, and spraying the moss once a month. This film shows me approaching the little root and it's tiny hairs with curiosity. There's a beauty to the small organic forms which mirror those of larger trees.
Wild entanglement, Hampstead Heath
Roots rebelliously engulfing metal fence
Branches
Tree with two branches and two crows, Hampstead Heath
When Nature feels Surreal - Fairyland (Hampstead Heath)
I found this photograph of a tree and star at night in the French countryside beautiful. This photograph is similar to White Roots Painting - black background and white branches which contrast to stand out. There is a softness to the forms
Cedar tree, Hertfordshire
Crow on dead tree, Hertfordshire
Texture
Close-up of bark, Hertfordshire
Lichen and moss on tree trunk, Hertfordshire
Ephemeral white mushrooms, Hertfordshire
Mushroom infested tree, Hertfordshire
Close-up of mushroom on mushroom-infested tree, Hertfordshire
Light
Dappled light on Sequoia, Kew Gardens
Shadows of tree, Casis
Illuminated leaves, Hampstead Heath
Waterlily House, Kew Gardens
Fluidity
Eroded rocks and the sea, Casis
Sea splashing on rocks filmed from the lighthouse, Casis.
Studio Visit - Adrian Morris
I visited Adrian Morris's studio. His wife said he had been interested in earth and water in his paintings and had used some silvery, pale blue tones, mimicking the surface of a lake, with brown-pink tones for earth. This is a painting he made near the end of his life. I often use black to represent Mortality and am interested in evocations of the artist's psyche. Morris creates a bleak and claustrophobic scene of a cream-walled interior with what appears to be the doorway to death which you can't escape from, nor return from. I found the atmosphere of this painting suffocating and had to leave the room but his wife was pleased that I had been moved by the work.
18 Millbank Exhibition
Residency exhibition at 18 Millbank (2024) [Exhibition]. 18 Millbank studios, London. 21 August 2024.
This piece by a student represents the importance of language and cultural identity when a country has been taken over and invaded by another, changing their language and culture by force. Although my practice does not share this theme I liked the texture of the layered homemade, stitched paper made from cardboard which reminded me of tree bark, especially with the wavy lines, much like the grain of wood.
Reflection on Chrystel Lebas' Lecture
I had seen Chrystel's Regarding Forests exhibition at the Wellcome Collection so it was exciting to find out that she was the artist behind it. I think I had wondered whether her works on display were electronic screens as they were so bright, so it was interesting to find out that they were prints with good quality lighting (scent was also designed for this exhibition). One large photograph was later moved to a cancer centre, providing a healing room where one can experience nature within the ward. I found her experiential research particularly interesting, doing a residency at hunting grounds where she photographed the same scene from safe land to record the view changing across the seasons. More excitingly, she had spoken about camping in the forest where you can't see the animals but they can be felt and how she had come close to a pack of wolves when her partner was comically asleep in the car at a distance. She shed light on how the hunting museum had said that area was not safe regarding wild animals, yet at the same time she had found bones, pointing to the staff at the reserve feeding the animals to try to lure them out, and lure in tourists who want to see them. It was inspiring to hear how she had been a financially struggling artist when she was young in Paris, moved to London to do an academic course at an art school (BA or MA) and then built herself a successful creative career where she had sold her artist books. Her photography appealed to me as it featured forests and pin-hole camera photographs of skies, many of which have interesting clouds and moons; nature is a theme I am also exploring in my Practice, especially tree portraiture, some of which have also featured moons.
MA Unit 3 Bibliography
Benglis, L. (1971) Lynda Benglis Phantom. Available at: http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/reviews/nathan/lynda-benglis-new-museum-2-11-11_detail.asp?picnum=3 (Accessed: 14 November 2024).
Benglis, L. (1971) Phantom [Polyurethane foam with phosphorescent pigments]. Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art. DACS, London/VAGA, New York 2009 (Viewed: 14 November 2024). Available at: https://archive.newmuseum.org/print-ephemera/7788 (Accessed: 14 November 2024).
Berini, G,L (1625) Apollo and Daphne [marble]. Borghese Gallery, Rome (Viewed: 18 August 2024).
Burack, E. (2022) The Addams Family Over the Years: See How The Characters Compare. Available at: https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/g42167889/addams-family-comparison-wednesday-netflix-original-movie-show/(Accessed: 25 November 2024).
Camberwell College of Arts End of Year Exhibition (2024) [Exhibition]. Camberwell College of Arts, London. 10 June 2024.
Chelsea College of Arts End of Year Exhibition (2024) [Exhibition]. Chelsea College of Arts, London. 6 June 2024.
Dali, S. (1946) The Temptation of St. Anthony [oil on canvas]. Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium (Viewed: 22 November 2024). Available at: https://www.wikiart.org/en/salvador-dali/the-temptation-of-st-anthony (Accessed 22 November 2024).
Dean, J. (2020) Holding Together [acrylic on linen]. Private Collection (Viewed: 16 November 2024). Available at: https://judithdean.weebly.com/painting.html (Accessed: 16 November 2024).
Desktop Tranquility (2024) How To Get Started Raking a Zen Garden. Available at: https://www.desktoptranquility.com/blog/how-to-get-started-raking-a-zen-garden (Accessed: 26 November 2024).
Figes, L. (2020) The paintings of George Shaw: an unconscious foreshadowing of Britain during quarantine. Available at: https://artuk.org/discover/stories/the-paintings-of-george-shaw-an-unconscious-foreshadowing-of-britain-during-quarantine (Accessed: 22 November 2024).
Grant, S. (2016) Informal Beauty: The Photographs of Paul Nash. First edition. London: Tate Publishing.
Hew, X. (2024). Into the alps [Oil on canvas]. Camberwell College of Arts, London.
Hou, Y. (2024). Epping-1 [Graphite on paper]. Camberwell College of Arts, London.
Lebas, C. (2024) 'Postgraduate Lecture Programme: Chrystel Lebas' [Lecture]. University of The Arts London. 30 October.
Luke, B. (2019) George Shaw: 'I make no distinction between great painting and great Tv'. Available at: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2019/02/13/george-shaw-i-make-no-distinction-between-great-painting-and-great-tv (Accessed: 21 November 2024).
MA End of Year Show (2024) [Exhibition]. Camberwell College of Arts, London. July 2, 2024 - July 6, 2024.
Magritte, R. (1952) Personal Values [oil on canvas]. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (Viewed: 16 November 2024). Available at https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/98.562/ (Accessed: 16 November 2024).
Maruani Mercier (2024) George Shaw. Available at: https://maruanimercier.com/artists/74-george-shaw/ (Accessed: 22 November 2024).
Nash, P. (1940) Black and white negative, Cowley Dump. Available at: https://www.tate-images.com/MC0254-Black-and-white-negative-Cowley-Dump.html (Accessed: 23 November 2024).
Nash, P. (1941) ‘Laocoon’. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/archive/items/tga-7050ph-1121/nash-black-and-white-negative-laocoon (Accessed: 23 November 2024).
Pollock, J. (1947) Full Fathom Five [Oil on canvas with buttons, keys, coins, nails, tacks, matches, and cigarettes]. Museum of Modern Art, New York City, United States (Viewed: 14 November 2024). Available at: https://www.singulart.com/en/blog/2023/09/26/jackson-pollock-famous-paintings/ (Accessed: 14 November 2024).
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​Residency exhibition at 18 Millbank (2024) [Exhibition]. 18 Millbank studios, London. 21 August 2024.
Shaw, G. (2004-2005) Ash Wednesday [Humbrol enamel on board]. British Council Collection (Viewed: 16 November 2024). Available at: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/ash-wednesday-177122 (Accessed: 16 November 2024).
South Parade (2024) Judith Dean. Available at: https://www.southparade.biz/judith-dean- (Accessed: 16 November 2024).
Spotify (2007) The Killers: Sawdust. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/album/4NtamseeVOGesCm8W9oHSz (Accessed: 25 November 2024).
TATE (2024) Paul Nash 1889-1946. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/paul-nash-1690 (Accessed: 23 November 2024).
Wikipedia (2024) Paul Nash (artist). Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Nash_(artist) (Accessed: 23 November 2024).