Polychrome Classical & Disguise Paintings
In these paintings I am investigating the two strands. Classical purity and 'whiteness' and gender signals through gesture. The paintings make reference to older forms of representation, classical relief carvings or casts and through 'fig leaf' details taken from Northern European paintings (Durer, Cranach etc) of Adam and Eve. I am always very interested in the way contemporary debates sometimes invoke or challenge the past.
During the painting of the Adam and Eve images I developed a better understanding of how I want the 'Fig Leaf' paintings to work. I wanted the bodies to loose some of the gender clues, so I have painted them with a slight out of focus effect. The leaf coverings have been painted in a more hard edged manner, bringing them forward to the viewer. I have also realised that these paintings are about shame (Adam and Eve's nakedness) and they are using apple tree branches to hide themselves rather than having 'fig leaves' imposed on them. In a curious way the are also about display- the cropped focus suggesting contemporary images from TV programmes like Naked Attraction.
The Classical Polychrome series looks at the use of classical themes to establish an invented heritage and authority. Normally these classical themes are represented as white, pure and timeless. The Walker Art Gallery has a room dedicated to this idea. These Greek and Roman carvings represent culture, education and of course ‘Academic’ training for artists. However contemporary archaeological research had demonstrated that Greek sculpture was indeed coloured (infamously this debate, culminated in the over cleaning of so called Elgin Marbles) This notion of purity is contradicted within this series of paintings, where emphatic colour is introduced. The sculptural plaques used as the subjects for the paintings are cheap plaster casts taken from classical originals. I have painted them in strong natural light, exaggerating coloured shadows and reflections. In this indirect way I wanted to inflect this perception of Liverpool’s history and culture with colour, nuance and ambiguity.
During the painting of the Adam and Eve images I developed a better understanding of how I want the 'Fig Leaf' paintings to work. I wanted the bodies to loose some of the gender clues, so I have painted them with a slight out of focus effect. The leaf coverings have been painted in a more hard edged manner, bringing them forward to the viewer. I have also realised that these paintings are about shame (Adam and Eve's nakedness) and they are using apple tree branches to hide themselves rather than having 'fig leaves' imposed on them. In a curious way the are also about display- the cropped focus suggesting contemporary images from TV programmes like Naked Attraction.
The Classical Polychrome series looks at the use of classical themes to establish an invented heritage and authority. Normally these classical themes are represented as white, pure and timeless. The Walker Art Gallery has a room dedicated to this idea. These Greek and Roman carvings represent culture, education and of course ‘Academic’ training for artists. However contemporary archaeological research had demonstrated that Greek sculpture was indeed coloured (infamously this debate, culminated in the over cleaning of so called Elgin Marbles) This notion of purity is contradicted within this series of paintings, where emphatic colour is introduced. The sculptural plaques used as the subjects for the paintings are cheap plaster casts taken from classical originals. I have painted them in strong natural light, exaggerating coloured shadows and reflections. In this indirect way I wanted to inflect this perception of Liverpool’s history and culture with colour, nuance and ambiguity.
