Tiff, Pete and I have always been fascinated by the object. In
some instances the object as a formal entity and in others the objects changed
by the combination of weather, time and often, neglect. Each artist has their
own unique way of presenting the work-watercolour, etching and photography, but
all have a similar visual and conceptual framework. The objects themselves are
a mixture of the natural and constructed.
“The
articulate audible voice of the past when the body and material substance of it
has altogether vanished like a dream.”
Thomas Carlyle
In
philosophical terms ‘substance’ relates to the Greek ousia, which means
‘being’, and the Latin substantia, which means ‘something that stands under or
grounds things’. Substances are fundamental structures of reality. They are the
basic things from which everything is made.
Susan
Sontag wrote of our diminishing touch with our past and that our objects should
“have a patina, old furniture, grandparents’ pots and pans–the used things,
warm with generations of human touch, ...essential to a human landscape.
Instead, we have our paper phantoms, transistorized landscapes. A featherweight
portable museum.”
The
work will contribute to a conversation as to what is the inherent meaning of
our material world, and how and why objects have such a fascination for us, as
possessions, as historical indicators, as part of place and as emotional
connections. Even though many of us live detached from the natural world in built
environments, governed by technology, we are still able to understand the
powerful pull of the natural world. We can relate to these themes with ease,
understanding that something as common place as a nest can convey ideas inherent in our own lives; home,
partnership, nurture and inevitable loss. The symbols themselves need little
explanation, they are meant to be accessible to all, to illustrate the
intrinsic human connection to nature, space and place and the role we play.
“But the rest is what is given to you as something extra, and there is a charm and a particular freedom about letting just anything come along, with the grace-or ennui-of a later destiny.”
Jean Baudrillard
Shelter Peter Rohen 30 x 30 cm Etching on archival paper
Torso Peter Ranyard 45 x 30 cm Archival Photographic Print
Leaf and Seed in Jam Jar Tiffanie Brown 36 x 36 cm Watercolour on cotton rag
