Artists Statement
Often inspired by literature, I am currently working on a series of paintings inspired by post WW2 poet and refugee Janos Pilinszky who wrote a poignant body of work on what he experienced. In particular I am responding to Pilinszky’s Fable which is a haunting portrayal of a refugee; isolated and misunderstood, the refugee is symbolised by a lonely wolf.
Notions of displacement inform my intention when I begin a painting, as I create imagined landscapes which I envisage a lonely wolf navigating. Using oils on paper with mediums that by their very nature oppose each other, painted layers distort and separate. Strange, fairytale-like landscapes are pulled out of the random markings, and minute detail such as houses, boats and trees are painted amongst them.
Here influence also lies with the works of Chinese artists such as Quo Xi (1020–1090) and Zhang Daqian (1899-1983) whose landscapes are limitless, allowing for the eye to travel over vast lands, and for the mind to imagine even further beyond.
The landscapes move between dark and dreamy, reflecting the wolf’s hope as he falls in love with a house and the people inside, but doesn’t see the danger. And so the landscapes are also permeated with signs of uneasiness and seclusion, and reference the plight of the refugee. Sunken boats, life jackets and clusters of tents among other telltale signs can often be found among the rivers, hills and trees.
To read more on The Lonely Wolf, please click here.
Notions of displacement inform my intention when I begin a painting, as I create imagined landscapes which I envisage a lonely wolf navigating. Using oils on paper with mediums that by their very nature oppose each other, painted layers distort and separate. Strange, fairytale-like landscapes are pulled out of the random markings, and minute detail such as houses, boats and trees are painted amongst them.
Here influence also lies with the works of Chinese artists such as Quo Xi (1020–1090) and Zhang Daqian (1899-1983) whose landscapes are limitless, allowing for the eye to travel over vast lands, and for the mind to imagine even further beyond.
The landscapes move between dark and dreamy, reflecting the wolf’s hope as he falls in love with a house and the people inside, but doesn’t see the danger. And so the landscapes are also permeated with signs of uneasiness and seclusion, and reference the plight of the refugee. Sunken boats, life jackets and clusters of tents among other telltale signs can often be found among the rivers, hills and trees.
To read more on The Lonely Wolf, please click here.