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Artist Statement
The vacillation between these two mindsets of emotion that propelled each work to fruition, to a conclusion which brought forth its final formulation.
This body of work entitled VACILLATE comprises works – acrylic on canvas and enamel on canvas – conceived and executed within the past two years. Each kind of work is reflective of a time when emotions, distinct and dissimilar, ruled my life. The work is characteristic of the condition that culminated after a life-altering event: the sudden unforeseen passing of Edward, my husband of 26 years.
A devastating event, it exerted tremendous hopelessness upon my existence. Immersed in the natural feelings of grief and sorrow there also came the concomitant conflict that stirred incessantly within. ‘Why?’ Months reeling in this vacuous vortex I was not any closer to an answer.
A devastating event, it exerted tremendous hopelessness upon my existence. Immersed in the natural feelings of grief and sorrow there also came the concomitant conflict that stirred incessantly within. ‘Why?’ Months reeling in this vacuous vortex I was not any closer to an answer.
Then, after a time, the soft balm of reconciliation slowly befell my being and I began to view life and living tempered with hope. This is reflective in the acrylic works: serious and sombre, yet with a glimmer of light. During my journey of restoration, it became clear that one is not in control of one’s life, nor one’s own mortality. So with these notions ebbing and flowing, I began to allow the medium in the enamel works to take a more prominent presence in the artmaking process, as I relegated myself to a lesser role. So then, whereas the acrylic paintings denote the despondency, the enamel paintings rejoice an energy, an exuberance. These enamel works herald the beauty of life and imbue a spirituality renewed; a soul reawakened; a self restored.
It is the vacillation between these two mindsets of emotion that propelled each work to fruition, to a conclusion which brought forth its final formulation. They beseech an understanding to strive to live a life of authenticity, close to one’s heart, representative of one’s personal hopes, one’s private yearnings, one’s own sacredness.