Counting Heads

Leigh Anderton-Hall

Opening: February 3 5:30 pm

Viewing: February 3 until February 13

This work developed from a series of watercolours called Speak Of, painted quite a few years ago. They depicted silhouettes with speech bubbles and I wondered if they could be made in clay. As the events of 2020 continued to unfold the silhouette heads became silent unseeing observers, trusting those in charge would protect us.  These sightless Guardians seek out the invisible virus and unknown future.

Like the plague doctors of the past their masks are adorned with various plant material, harakeke, Rose buds and St Johns Wort.. They are  a nod to  hobby pottery practice of rolling plant material into clay to make patterns. These masks also reference the gardens we played in during lock down and women sewing masks from patterned fabric.

Safe as Houses, again references the popular hobby potters, delight in making tea light houses. People have taken up neglected or desired hobbies during lockdown. Safe as Houses also discusses the anxiety or the real concerns over financial survival many felt, even though they “loved the lock down”.

Counting Heads, the act of daily counting of COVID statistics.

{Gallery 1}

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Works:

Cloud Guardian I

Guardian I

Watcher I

Watcher II

Watcher III

Cloud Guardian II

Guardian II

Watcher IV

Watcher V

Cloud Guardian III

Watcher VI

Watcher VII

Watcher VIII

Watcher IX

Counting Heads Abacus- Deaths

Safe as Houses