Chara Livera
The main focus of this project has been levitation, exploring the concepts of weightlessness, uplift and freedom. Levitation has been used as an analogy of an inner world of spirituality, providing viewers with an open space of contemplation. The work is purposefully open to interpretation depending merely on the viewer, exemplified by the refusal of definite signs (facial features, age, time, space) and the play of different languages. The notion of contrast is explored throughout the work, between careful and automatic drawing, small and large, monumental and precious.
Apparently small, photo-realistically painted, contemporary figures serve as the subjects of the work, directly juxtaposed with large, abstract spaces that suggest the figures are being pulled, carried or supported in a weightless space. This surreal situation creates an ambivalent space, exploited through an organic distortion of texture and mark making, giving the final pieces a worn-out, rather fragile feel. A three dimensional illusion is produced through layering, against the blank, white area, indicating a space not made through perspective, but through layers. The suggestion of ‘unintentional intentionality’ is further explored through the seemingly random placing of elements in an immersive, growing space.
In addition to the artistic possibilities involved, the exploration of photorealist and surrealist art has unwrapped pathways to a more creative mind-set which could be used as a means of development, in a personal and professional context.
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