TRACES

Well Christmas has been and we are now waiting with anticipation for 2008 to arrive.

I have been writing a submission for an exhibition at a gallery in Sydney. Crossing fingers for success!

Whilst I was writing the submission I had a few more thoughts about my idea of cellular memory...what I call 'white man's Dreaming'. The idea that 'memory' is transferred from one generation to another is very interesting. However, how do these 'memories' affect our lives and how applicable are they to our contemporary lives? Can we release them if they are not helpful or if they are downright harmful to our enjoyment of life? These are questions which interest me as an individual, but can they also be asked about whole cultures/nations? Are there 'memories' which we need to re-discover in order to bring connection back to our world? I think there are 'memories' which are basic to all of humanity and a re-discovery of them could make our world more 'together'. So, how can the arts help uncover these 'memories'? I don't think the artistic product itself has the answer. I think the conversations people have about the art holds far more potential. But, how much art generates conversations which go beyond appearance and critique, monetry value and so on? Bring back the art of conversation!

Memory Traces Of The Land Gouache on paper 52 x 114 cm paper size.

BEYOND

Nearly Christmas and life is busy. Venturing out to shop is a brave thing to do. So many people.

An article about my work which appeared in the XL magazine has been published online. Very exciting. http://resultsfoundation.wordpress.com/2007/12/11/painting-trees-for-peace/ You can read the article and make a comment too.

I am really quite passionate about the connection beteen art and the potential for different kinds of conversations which may lead to different ways to look at Peace Building. I have thought a lot about the subtle difference between personal conversations and intimate ones. Many personal conversations seem intimate because recounting personals events and details does take people outside their comfort zone. However, talking about feelings rather than details is where I believe intimacy occurs. This is where art can play its magic. Just like the spiral in my painting above where the outside seems to collide with the inside.

Beyond 25 x 25 cm oil on canvas

HOPE and TO EXPECT

This painting is called 'Beyond' and it is one of my paintings in the Doggett Street Gallery Christmas Exhibition opening this Friday night @ 6pm. All the details are in my previous posting.

But, what was I thinking about when I painted this image? The tree-of-life is an important symbol for me and I have previously talked about the various aspects of its transcultural/religious power which excite me. It is easily identifiable across the world and thus takes people beyond simple comments about colour etc etc to places of similarity and story telling. I have experienced this in the Middle East at my exhibitions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi...more particularly in Abu Dhabi.

However, apart from the tree-of-life's potential to bring people togther it also has an affect on personal hope. I see hope as a seed...like a thought is a seed. After all, hope normally comes because someone thinks about something they want. But, is hope enough? Where does faith fit in? Is hope just hope without faith?

I recently had an insight...well it was for me.

Faith is very closely accompanied by the thought 'I expect...'. However, if the verb turns into a noun ie: an expectation, power can be lost because there is a tendency to dwell on or fall in love with an expectation and these can ultimately cause anxiety. With anxiety what happens to faith because surely faith can only exist without questioning [which anxiety implies]? So, the trick must be 'to expect' but not to have an expectation which you carry with you in your thoughts all the time.

The tree-of-life in terms of an individuals life can be like a map of our thoughts, hopes, faith and expectations. Each branch and twigg representing a moment or time of growth, activity, seeds sewn with some harvested and others not.

Beyond 25 x 25 cm [unframed] oil on canvas, $360