Alison Keogh; sumiscape installation in background.Artist Statement
This collection of work represents my personal landscapes – capturing a dialogue with the natural world
Each piece and series expresses itself through repetition and texture. The act of repetition brings about a state of intensified awareness during the creative process and is reinforced in the final work.
I work with elemental materials that require a direct tactile manipulation using minimal tools. Graphite, paper, newsprint and sumi ink are all derived from trees. The materials may change, but the process of repetition and the exploration to reveal the invisible remains constant.
Increasingly my breath has become an important part of the process and I now consciously match my movements with my breath.
The exhibition “Landscape – a different view” provides the viewer with an alternative perspective to experience the materials with a changed perception.
Exhibition Notes:
Newsprint Reliefs
Newsprint relief: The Financial Times, given a new look!
These reliefs depict patterns of my breath as I manipulate layers of the British Financial Times newspaper into topographical landscapes.
Selected sheets of the stock market pages are first treated with a deacidification product for longevity and then carefully torn into strips. Next, the edges are treated with ink. The work is built-up layer upon layer. Finally a protective coating of archival varnish is applied.
The wave like texture is achieved by forming a loop in the strip of paper and securing it with a bookbinding adhesive. I pay attention to my breathing as I do this; each loop is an inhalation or an exhalation. The work creates its own field of consciousness. The impermanence of the paper is analogous to the impermanence of our thoughts. The stock market pages are used for their visual consistency.
This series concerns the discovery of nature within the newspaper. It transcends the ordinary daily purpose as a conveyor of “news”… and now expresses itself through an altered state of being.
Graphite Botanicals
Chestnut Leaves, graphite on Japanese kozo paperThese are a series of intricate studies of plant matter using the mediums of graphite and Japanese kozo paper. I have captured the structure of plants with a precise but subtle sensuality.
This work was originally exhibited in Sweden under the title “Graphite Impressions”. It evolved from my interest in printing and more particularly “frottage”.
The leaves are pressed, dried and selected for individual vein structure. Then they are carefully attached to a small square card to preserve their fragility during the frottage process. The leaf square is placed under the Japanese paper and the graphite is rubbed over the top. Each impression is created individually.
The work is presented in a contemporary and abstract manner to create a new perspective. Some of the plant materials used include maize, red oak, cabbage and chestnut leaves.
Sumi-scapes
My current work with sumi ink is a continuation of the Newsprint Reliefs: the preoccupation with line as texture and the conscious involvement of my breath as I work.
In most cases an inhalation is represented as a light fine line, an exhalation being heavier and thicker.
Two types of brushes are used which create distinctly different results. The heavy weight paper was selected for the smooth finish which affects the manner in which the ink is absorbed.
There is an underlying motive of self discovery through the act of cultivating calmness and concentration during the work.
While experiencing the karesansui (dry gardens) in Japan this year and in particular the garden at Ryoan-ji Temple, I discovered a connection with my Sumi-scape line drawings. The exact nature of this connection continues to unfold as I develop this exciting new medium.
-Alison Keogh
In September and October, the gallery welcomed another group of talented artists: the crew of woodfire potters who regularly fire at the Benn/Gallagher Harstine Island kilns, and three local woodworkers whose furniture and sculptures from local and exotic woods are still creating buzz.
Stay tuned!
