So anyway – here’s the last post prior to the art being marked – but not the last post, as I’ll pop back to update on the actual degree show; it’d be daft not to.
My project has evolved & the them streamlined enough such that I should be able to explain it in fewer words than before. I’ve already been tested on that whilst I was setting up.
6ix Souls
There are four tall, narrow paintings with depict the lives of four of the souls. Each of them read from top to bottom as an abstract pictorial of a life, from birth to death. As they are displayed, the first is entitled Abraham Frostrithick, Drowned at Sea. Abraham didn’t drown at sea, he drowned his sorrows with copious amounts of alcohol. Abraham, being a Master Mariner, would’ve preferred to have drowned at sea.
Next along is You Don’t Understand, which represents the life and eventual suicide of a teenaged girl who had a great many problems that no one was aware of. The tragegy being that if they had known, they might’ve been able to help.
Then comes What Goes Around Comes Around, which is the life of Mr Frederick Smarmsworth, a man bullied in childhood, who grew up to be less than he wanted to be. Ending up in retail middle management, Fred kept up a facade of being wealthy – even though everyone knew he wasn’t, they humoured him. What they didn’t know though, was that Fred was a serial killer; his dark side well hidden; his favourite method being fire. He met his own end at the hands of another, by fire, of course.
Lastly, there’s When September Ends, which depicts the long life of a gentleman left alone for many years after the passing of his wife. A steadfast, most would say ‘normal’ man – he died alone surrounded by all the furniture, ornaments and photos collected over decades.
Inside the Black Space, there are four ‘last shelves’, representing how each of these people would leave them as they expire. Carrying tales of their lives with their contents in books and oddities.
The Last Voyage of Abraham Oscar Frostrithick depicts the true reason for his death. Drink.
I Miss You belongs to the teenaged girl. A sad time capsule of her interests and clues of her tendency to extremes of emotion.
The Final Shelves of a Man Who Wanted More are how the murderous businessman left them, now retained as evidence against him, no doubt; or did he get away with it?
Seems Like Only Yesterday are the last shelves of our dear elderly gentleman, indicating a life more ordinary, and a realisation of the end soon to come.
So there we have the beginning and the end of these 4 souls.
Then there’s me: A Perfect Breakfast in an Imperfect Place relates fully to how I feel as a creative person in a world where creativity is not much appreciated. My ‘breakfast’ is the art; the imperfect ‘cafe’ represents society as a whole. It’s been my life not to have much, in pursuit of creative happiness.
My end? 47 Springtimes – how many seasons do we actually get to see? Not all that many. If I died just after I’d created that artwork, I’d have had 47 springtimes, or so it seems – give-or-take …Life purely as a collection of seasons, each time weathering and ageing more.
Viewpoint on Capt. Abraham’s Preferred End hangs in the dark of the Black Space, and represents the way that Abraham would rather have died – in a shipwreck.
A Window to Another Mr Smarmsworth also hangs in the gloom; a gloomy piece itself. It seeks to illustrate the dark underside of the life of the murderous Mr Smarmsworth. The side of himself that even he couldn’t face. The dark evil behind the facade. That is why the painting has been reversed, and we must view the charred rear.
Timebag is a small, discrete piece which hides away, low down on a wall in the darkness. It is there forever, like time. Whatever happens to us all, time will go on … until the end of … time.
