detail therapy

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Monday 14 June 2010

the art on my walls























"Incomplete": this was my first piece in my jigsaw series, and it's one which has continued to evolve as a concept. I first conceived it simply as a puzzle with a missing piece, but when I came to make it I decided to add a piece that didn't fit (to hammer my message home - subtlety sometimes eludes me). Looking at it over the years I sometimes thought that it represented me as an incomplete puzzle that would never be solved. At other times, I saw myself as the little red piece that didn't fit into wider society. Recently, I've begun to see a figure walking along with a tiny red body and an enormous round head, with eyes downcast. Whatever the message, this piece has special significance for me.

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"Crowd": this one came to me when I was happily partnered - notice how it's much more cheery? It has a patchwork look and can be a little mesmerising to look at. When I made it, though, I thought the message of the piece was one of confusion and being lost in a crowd. There's a single piece lost in the crowd that isn't immediately apparent.



















It was while making this jigsaw that I came to see pieces shaped this way as a "little man". This one became my representative in this piece - little Greg lost and overlooked in a big joyful crowd, but shining out, occasionally, if the light caught the artwork from the right angle.

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My next piece went wrong (I don't recall my intention), but I salvaged enough of it to make this. In this one there is someone else out there for me, which might seem more hopeful, but my feeling is that we are held apart and cannot ever come together. Can you tell that my relationship was over by now?

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Now we come to my more recent work. This one was conceived as a response to "Crowd", and faces it on the opposite wall of my kitchen. I'm calling it "Mod" for now, because the black and white chequered look makes me think of the Mods on their scooters, and also because I think this looks a little like a Bridget Riley and therefore is my "modern art" piece.



















I've picked out the same little man as in "Crowd", in order to send the viewer back to the earlier work to spot him. Of course, it also conveys the same idea of "not fitting in".

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I was also looking to make a companion piece to "Incomplete" and couldn't come up with a concept until a friend suggested a complete version. I resisted the idea for a long time, thinking that it didn't feel like that would represent my inner state. I had this jigsaw on my dining table for months while I dithered over different ideas, but I slowly came to terms with this simple design. I've decided to acknowledge the Japanese influence to my work here and call this one "Zen". I really like it - it has a meditative quality and I often stop by it on my landing and just stare into the black pool of this piece.

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Finally, for now, comes my most recent work. I can't think of a more fitting name than "Despair" for this one at the moment, but that might evolve as I come to terms with it. Most of the time I enjoy my solitude, but I can't pretend it doesn't feel like this sometimes. In this piece there is no-one out there for me - I'm all alone in the dark.




















(but I'm still golden)