Land und Meer
Self Portraits: Uber Land und Meer
Painting on old book pages frees me from potential blocks surrounding precious materials. The books themselves are past their prime on the antique market - when they come to me I gift them another life. I handle fragile fragments of someone else’s work, enshrined in shadow boxes, they are laden with paint, dirt, and layers of meaning… They take another bow.
The process always has something to teach me. Uber Land und Meer, proved to be an 1893 German periodical that celebrated the world. Full page lavish illustrations explored every corner of the globe.Marvelous works done at the height of engraving before the camera took things by storm. As literacy increased in the 19th century people were hungry for stories and giddy for a glimpse of the broad range of human experience.
We live in different times. “Other” is openly feared, rejected and abused. Can we still bring loving curiosity when we look into anothers eyes?
I produced this body of work while living in my new studio, surrounded by boxes, patiently dreaming of moving in the house and reclaiming the work space. Step by Step, we get to where we need to be. By chance (the way so many good things come…), I had just been given a suite of inks made from natural plants: indigo, quebracho, pomegranate, Brazilwood, kamala, silver cassia, buckthorn. Which made this dreamy painting session, layer after layer or pencils, inks, guache, acrylic mixed with adobe dirt from my new home. I began by clouding the faces, mapping out transitions, wanderings, growth and crisis. And always, mapping gratitude. For the ancestors, and the web of loving support that keeps a human going in spite of it all.