The Scent of Joss sticks
Eclectica Contemporary
2017
Gaiete Parisienne
The body of work presented in the exhibition "The scent of joss
sticks" deals with the sense of nostalgic longing for a part of childhood that is long since past and that shall never again return. It
is a wistfulness that nests deep
in the soul and is stirred by certain light, music and of course the scent of
joss sticks.
The images referenced are from photographs taken at my parents 10th
wedding anniversary in 1971. We lived on a farm in Kiepersol, far from tarred
roads and big city lights, and for the most part isolated from much of society.
Parties were a time for
reconnecting with the outside world and a coming together of friends from far
away. What I remember best was the excitement within the preparation, and the
arrival of a cast of characters who came from far away. Eccentric characters
often, filled to the brim with stories of wayward lives and places I as a child
could only imagine.
As children we would spy
with fascination these wondrous characters, hide 'neath tables and crawl out to
dance, and nick cigarettes and sips of lost champagne. Scandals we would listen
in on and in our ever-growing imaginations, would invent entire lives for each
character. And music...music played constantly. Songs of a love so huge, my
heart would swell and ebb in my childhood bed and tears would spill into my
pillow as I fell in love over and over and over.
And for moments in time, the world was majestic, my parents, Queen and
King of a fantastic court.
..and the scent of joss stick would fill the air.
The process of creating the body of work was for me a bittersweet one.
Over the months my studio filled with people from that brilliant time of my life.
My parents, larger than life, and some of their dearest friends in a
'cracker-jack' time of their lives, I could hear them laugh and their voices
grew loud and resonant in my head. I remembered so very much, and within the
process , I listened to the music that had soundtracked my childhood, and there came a chance to once again
immerse myself within a time so precious that in moments I laughed out loud
before realizing the thief of time and tears sprung.
The works I decided to present untrimmed, to allow the viewer to see
the working marks staining the sides of the paper, this for me symbolizes the
reality of the now, juxtaposed with the romance of the paintings.
The use of the patterned background against which the characters are
set, is suggestive of the opulence and sumptuousness of the time. The realities
of their lives in retrospect, was very different to what my childish
imagination had conjured up.
The drops of distressed wallpaper works are an expression of a time having past. Rooms now empty of
the glorious characters that no longer revel within them. The distressing of
the surface illustrates the crumbling and decay of time, and the suggestion of
the pattern still evident, hints at the beauty of what once was.
Tico tico
Take 5
Goodnight my Love
How High the Moon
Cha cha cha d'amour
Co Co
Pepito
Mammy Blue
Glow Worm Cha-cha-cha
Cachito
Prosschai
All the paintings are done in oil and acrylic on paper. The wall paper drops were layered using paraffin wax. The portraits are all life size. The titles of the works are titles of songs that remind me of my childhood and I listen to them all still.
