TOGETHER

Together Gouache on paper 30 x 21 cm

Together oil on canvas 30 x 30 cm


Last night I presented at PECHAKUCHA Brisbane http://www.pechakuchabrisbane.org/ There were 10 speakers and we had 20 slides which appeared for 20 secs on a power point each. Thus, we each had 6 mins 40 secs to say what we wanted to say. Boy, 6 mins 40 secs flies when you are on centre stage.

I spoke about my interest in perspective, distance and my much loved trans-cultural/religious tree-of- life motif. I somehow intertwined these with my investigations and thoughts about art's catalytic agency as a stimulant for agenda-less but not directionless conversations which may...just may...hold clues to new pathways to peace on earth. Now that's pretty big to fit into 6 mins 40 secs! I think I managed it succinctly though. I also spoke about 'frisson' and described it as a thrill which could be touched with either or both fear and excitement like the moment before a romantic kiss. This was when I could feel my daughter, who was in the audience cringing! Mum talking about romantic kisses....all Mums are too old to even think about things like that! Well, apparently I was wrong...she did not cringe at all. She thought I did a really good job!

As I was preparing for the presentation, I was thinking a lot about my experiences talking with visitors to my exhibition in Abu Dhabi in 2005. Regular readers of my BLOG will have read about these experiences before. Visitors to the exhibition came from all over the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and some from the West. The conversations, which were stimulated by my artwork, went way beyond the art to places of shared compassion where we realised there were far more fundamental similarities between us than differences. As a result of my recent reflections I realise these experiences of intimacy made my world larger. So, a perfect example of multiple perspectives felt and experienced simultaneously...as something got smaller it also got larger.

As readers of my BLOG know I am intensely interested in exploring the notion that our contemporary world is a stage that exists between indeterminate and multi directional 'wings' of the Global and local, macro and micro, intimate and vast. Readers also know that I wonder how we can develop flexible skills of perspective in order to dance across this stage. I wonder if perspective collapses and something else is created...but I don't have a name for it...yet!

We have passed by [ I hope!] the arrested development of the post-modern playground where pretend games lead us to events such as the GFC. We are now on the precipice of learning the dance steps needed to negotiate the 21st century stage. To me a stage still means we can be playful but we are not constantly playing pretend.

Cheers,

Kathryn