New Work Friday #177

“This series represents my first body of work as an abstract painter, shifting from more representational work. As such, I have been highly influenced by the book ‘Tantra Song’, which surveys the elusive tradition of abstract Tantric paintings from Rajasthan, India. These images are used by families for spiritual and meditation purposes, and as such are not merely aesthetically beautiful objects, ‘they are instead vital seeds, living carriers of possibility’. I am intrigued by the beginnings of things, and also by the possibilities inherent in things that are not fully revealed. I love the quote by 12th Japanese monk Yoshida Kenko “If man were never to fade away like the dews of Adashino, never to vanish like the smoke over Toribeyama, but lingered in forever in the world, how things would lose their power to move us! The most precious thing in life is uncertainty.” In this series I have aimed to use paint and collage to depict mysterious landscapes and spaces that also represent internal states of being. Each viewer will necessarily have different experiences with these painted spaces, however the abstract nature of each piece is intended to enable the viewer to explore the power and beauty of uncertainty and possibility.I am a high school art teacher about to embark on a full-time Masters of Studio Art. This year I have attended private art lessons with painter Marisa Purcell” – Kirsten Duncombe