CYCLICAL

That's Life Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm 2006




Everything Is Cyclical Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm unframed 2009



Recently something spun into my head about the actual form of perspective as a metaphor for how we view ourselves and others. A predominantly western view would be that it has a linear appearance and action. Yet, the world is not linear even if our thoughts have been trained that way.


I am toying with my thoughts on a spherical but not necessarily static type of image of the action and appearance of perspective. When we think of horizons we tend to think of them in our line of sight, yet thay exist all around us even when we cannot see them...except of course with our mind's eye or imagnation. And, it is with these capacities that we can also 'see' beyond the horizons. As readers of my BLOG know I love playing with perspective in my work, asking the viewer to question space and distance, both as literal experiences as well as metaphorical ones.


I have written about the contemporary stage as being one which exists between the 'wings' of the global and local, yet this suggests a more linear experience which does not fully encapsulate how I imagine perspective in this globalised world in which we live locally. But, I had a 'Ah Ha' moment when I imagined a theatre in the round with the 'wings' existing at any and all points. These 'wings' can move in and out at will or at random [or seemingly so]. This stage at its most micro level would exit within us as we contemplate and reflect upon experiences whether they be in the physical world or other. As we develop skills in perspective I believe our horizons are pushed further, whether they be at vast distances or close ones. And, as these horizons move we become less fearful of what might be beyond the horizons.


In my last BLOG I quoted JK Rowling from her 2008 Harvard Alumni Association presentation entitled The Fringe Benefits of Failure And The Importance of Imagination http://harvardmagazine.com/commencement/the-fringe-benefits-failure-the-importance-imagination . The quote is, ' The willingly unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid.’

I really like this quote. Without imagination or tapping into our mind's eye our horizons contract and can swallow us with fear.

The two paintings above are about circles, cycles and spheres. In 'That's Life' the tree-of-life splays out with positive and negative circle shapes above and below it. These circles could be seen as perspective turned inside out. They could also represent the 'contemporary stage' in its most fulsome presence ie: multi dimensional. "Everything Is Cyclical' is a newer work essentially dealing with water, yet a drop of water has a form like I imagine our contemporary stage to be. It moves, it can collide with other drops or separate itself, it can penetrate, it can soften and enmass it is awesome.