Duality
Amber McFadyen
Opening: September 2 5:30 pm
Viewing: September 1 until September 19
As an artist, I am process-driven and experimental by nature. This body of work is the synthesis of my exploration into persisting with and refining a process (graphite). Earlier this year I read Irving Stone’s ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy’ and became fascinated with the idea of truly mastering something. Michelangelo’s story is a tale of tunnel vision, laser focus and little of the usual distractions of modern life. It was a life completely indulged in the pursuit of mastery with chisel and (reluctantly) a paintbrush. My personal pursuit would need to begin by selecting my tools and process from myriad possibilities.
As I began my first pieces, I started making connections between my previous work, namely darkroom photography. I noticed the same tactile qualities of the process and the creative flexibility that working with graphite offered. Mastering the art of graphite is a deliberate exercise in translation. I found myself treating the paper as I would a light-sensitive surface. Tones were not only rendered but actively dodged and burned. A ‘change of filter’ could achieve soft velvety blacks and crisp white highlights could be erased back. In my drawings I was seeking to achieve the rich tonal depths, grain and high contrast of a traditional gelatin silver print. To this end, many of my own photographs set the scene for these drawings.
Beneath this photographic stillness lies the Cat. A creature defined by its duality – existing comfortably between the wild and the domestic. This contradiction gives them a ubiquitous quality and an uncanny ability to never seem out of place. They are timeless fixtures of our world and a creature I find fascinating. Observing Cats, you might witness a certain sassiness, adoration or annoyance in a matter of minutes. Somehow both human and Cat recognise and respect their differences and what emerges is a relationship of love and reciprocal recognition. This mutualism is at the heart of our relationship with Cats, and a quality I sought to explore in several drawings in this series.
The final four pieces of my work pay homage to Michelangelo and reference his Sibyls of the classical world which can be viewed on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. In his work, each Sibyl is depicted within a rectangular niche, making them appear as an inverted triangle. My feline sibyls foretell the future by looking to the past. They represent the way Cats have been viewed or valued in various places and periods of human history.
As the title of my original inspiration ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy’ suggests, creating this work has been hugely rewarding but not without challenges. I have learned that ideas are born from the action of doing the work, rather than agonising over it inwardly. Similarly, the production of the work lights the fire to make more. If the purpose of making Art is to elicit a feeling, I hope that you as the viewer feel something as you journey through this collection.
{ Emerge Gallery }
