ON THE EDGE OF FURY: A LANDSCAPE FOR OUR TIME

On The Edge of Fury: A Landscape for Our Time Oil on linen 30 x 40 cm 2020

PROCESS

On The Edge of Fury: A Landscape for Our Time just happened! I am actually working on another painting Machine Unreadable, nearly completed. I started to prepare a new canvas so that it would be ready to work on next week. But, I could not stop - and - On The Edge of Fury: A Landscape for Our Time is the result. This type of thing happens reasonably often, especially when there is a lot to think about. And, at the moment, with COVID-19, there is a huge amount to think about - and worry about. This kind of rapid creation also happens when I've worked intensively for some time. It's like a release valve. I consider it a normal part of the creative process, a kind of waxing and waning of intensity. 

TURMOIL - VIRUS

I wanted to create an image of turmoil, to reflect the effects of a world changed by virus. As I was pushing the paint around with a brush, pouring paint from a container and tipping the stretcher up and down to make the paint drip and flow, I suddenly thought of my childhood landscape. I've written about this landscape before [please see images below for links]. I grew up on my parent's grain farm on the flat naturally treeless black-soil Pirrinuan Plain, outside Dalby, on the fertile Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. As we danced with endless horizons and relentless skies, distance consumed us. In stormy weather the sky seemed to overtake the landscape. With nothing to obstruct our view we could see where lightning struck the Earth, we could watch clouds rolling wildly and strips of rain pouring on parched soil many kilometers away. The unobstructed flat horizon and the unfolding distance revealed everything. 

HORIZONS

As I was playing with the paint, I suddenly painted a horizontal line across the painting. This is the flat horizon of my childhood, the marker of distance that made me who I am. The painting felt right, it spoke to me about how landscape informs us, if we a willing to watch, listen, smell and feel. With my painting, a tension between calmness and calamity offered a way to think about the effects of the virus. The flat foreground could, on the one hand, be a future of calm reflection about much needed societal change, but, on the other hand, it could also be the past. It's certainly not the present! The sky tumbles uncontrolled, maybe not only reflecting the present, but also a possible future. The flat horizon seems to suggest we have a choice about how this future might expand before us. 

The tension between land and sky is exposed in the nakedness of the flat landscape terrain - no hills, no trees, no houses. The storm, a metaphor, appears ominously ready to devour the calmness. Would this mean a future foreclosed? However, the storm is equally exposed, its fury obviously raw and hot. The flat exposed horizon demands attention, possibly offering hope as it holds the fury back, giving us some time. The horizon is a metaphor for the world to meet the fury of nature in honest and compassionate ways. Are we brave enough? I think we need to be.

Life depends on it.

Cheers,

Kahryn

*Below are some images of the Pirrinuan Plain, plus three other stormy paintings!

Me with my brothers Wilfred and Douglas, many years ago. The sky is stormy, although not wildly so. We had some very welcome rain.

 Me in 2015 on a trip back to Dalby and the Pirrinuan Plain. Note the flat horizon, and the rich black soil. Cotton, mainly dryland, is now farmed in the district. It was not a crop grown during my childhood. Back then it was mainly wheat, corn, sorghum.

A very old photo of the Pirrinuan Plain. Probably taken in the 1930s-1940s by my grandfather.

 Night Time Electrical Storm [Across the Flat Plain] Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm 2012

Stormy Weather, Where? Oil on linen 120 x 150 cm 2013

Storm Oil on linen 85 x 150 cm 2012

ANTHROPOCENE

Anthropocene Gouache and watercolour on paper 56 x 76 cm 2017

In Queensland, Australia, where I live, we have just experienced Cyclone Debbie. Luckily I live south of where the eye of the storm hit, but this cyclone was so massive that it has affected the entire Queensland coastline. Take a look at images taken from the International Space Station HERE

So, with Cyclone Debbie in mind, my new painting Anthopocene 'speaks' to what seems to be an escalation in natural disasters not only in frequency, but in size and ferocity over the last few decades. The term Anthropocene has entered our lexicon to describe a new geologic era, one where human activities have influenced atmospheric, geologic, biospheric and hydrolic systems on Earth. You can read more about the Anthropocene on various websites including Anthropocene   and Smithsonian . com

ANTHROPOCENE

I started Anthropocene well before Cyclone Debbie threatened. Why? Because, things like drought, mass forced migration of people, floods, coral bleaching and firestorms intersect with increasing surveillance, political tensions, social schisms, terrorism and war. These in turn intersect with increasing developments in technology, emerging new technologies, exploration of space and neo-liberal hijacking of seemingly everything in order to monetise it. All sounds rather dire really!

In Anthropocene I take a cosmic view of human activity! There's fire, coral bleaching, flooding rains, drought, mass forced migration/exodus - and - cross-hair targets, a weaponised Reaper drone and space based assets [GPS and communications satellites] representing their dual-use civilian/military status. Then, there are some fervent red trees - trees-of-life, their branches turned inwards as if creating an airway where their filaments-leaves can filter invasive forces - a promising breathing space. Even the radiating surveillance rays of an obscured reconnaissance force cannot infiltrate the breathing space. 

Perhaps life has other plans for us? 

NEWS

My painting The Tree of Life Sends its Energy Underground is the front cover of the next Australian Women's Book Review Please click on their website where you can see the image, plus read my artist's statement. And, you can order the review! 

In February an interview Portfolio: Dronescapes by Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox I did with Maggie Barnett from the Centre for the Study of the Drone, Bard College, New York was published on the Centre's fabulously informative website. 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox

RUNOFF

Runoff Gouache and watercolour on paper 30 x 42 cm 2016

My last post was called PLAYING WITH AUSTRALIA . In that post I uploaded two recent AUSTRALIA paintings - and - here's another new one for you. I have been working with gouache and watercolour on paper for a few months and thoroughly enjoying it too. However, for every painting I upload, there's a few that have been ripped up or painted over. The process of painting is an ebb and flow, of feeling that a work is successful - not successful - successful - not successful and so on. 

RUNOFF

I have painted Australia as a series of colourful ribbon-like lines. The contours of the Australian continent seem to leak into what could be an ocean of water or an 'ocean' of space or an 'ocean' of metaphors claiming our imaginations. When I painted this image I was thinking of many things: our environment, current national and world politics, our national identity, globalisation, influence, brain drains, the environment, the future and more. 

FLOODS

I was inspired by some old photographs from my youth. These photos recorded a very serious flood that occurred in early 1981. The flood waters ripped gully-like contours into the deep black soil paddocks in and surrounding my parent's farm. Whilst it had rained heavily in our local area, it had also rained very heavily in the nearby Bunya Mountains. The runoff had traveled many kilometres onto the black soil Pirrnuan Plain where my parent's farm was situated. The erosion caused by the massive water runoff continues to scar the landscape. The photos below show you the extent of the water coverage. 

Pirrinuan Plain, Queensland, Australia Flood 1981

Pirrinuan Plain, Queensland, Australia Flood 1981

So, literal floodwater runoff got me thinking about currency - not only literal water currents, but also political currency, financial currency, contemporaneous-ness. What happens when things get out of control? When does political 'runoff' cause 'erosion' of confidence? Where does economic 'runoff' cause an 'erosion' of sustainability? There are questions about industrial and technological development and the 'runoffs' that erode environmental sustainability. What kinds of scars are our activities of the 20th and 21st century leaving for future generations?

Yet, water runoff as it travels to the lowest point can also replenish underground aquifers, dams, lakes and other water storages. In these cases abundance is not wasted, as the water is stored for future use. Thinking about this got me contemplating about how we might 'store' economic wealth in ways that ensure sustainability and equitable distribution to support social infrastructures. This is at the same time as allowing people to pursue their dreams.

How can we maintain political systems that provide a store of integrity that generates confidence? Are there ways to rebuild and then store, and therefore re-store, environmental safeguards eg: water, soil, air, flora and fauna?

RE-STORING LAND
I have a some experience with re-storing land. When I lived in Goondiwindi, further west than my childhood home, I was lucky enough to build two big beautiful  gardens. Both gardens were situated on a block out of town, beside a creek. However, the land had previously been overstocked, it had been eroded, and the only plants that seemed to thrive were prickly ones.

I had the land deep ripped. This is a process of digging deeply into the soil with a deep ripping machine towed behind a tractor. It allows air flow and water absorption, plus penetration of nutrients into the soil. I introduced nutrients by digging in rotten hay and cotton trash [leftover from the cotton gin]. I had large mounds of soil formed in big garden beds, and into these I planted hundreds of small tubular plants: eucalyptus, sheoaks and other native bushes and trees. They grew quickly as their roots were able to spread out and grow into the newly mounded and ripped soil. As time went by, the trees self-mulched the soil with their dropped leaves and I was able to plant smaller bushes and ground covers. Worms even reappeared! And, the prickly plants were largely eradicated.

Yes, we had floods in Goondiwindi too. Once my gardens and the remaining paddocks were deep ripped, and grasses and other foliage were restored, the flood waters did not strip the land, causing further erosion. Instead the water penetrated the soil and re-established sub-soil moisture profiles ie: stored water for the future! The runoff was collected...

Me starting one of the Goondiwindi gardens. The soil had already been deep ripped. 

So...I've written quite a bit - but I hope it helps you see how an artist draws upon a range of influences, experiences and thoughts. Runoff is a painting that proposes neither good nor bad outcomes, but I think it certainly triggers questions.

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

FROM THE DARKNESS OF MY MAP DRAWERS

Together And Apart Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm [Unframed] 2005

 

Today I sold Together And Apart [above]. It will have a new home in the USA!

 

Needless to say I am very happy, particularly because it was an out-of-the blue sale. And, because I had such a lovely time with the buyer and his friend...a mutual friend actually.

 

I had the opportunity to bring out works on paper that have not seen the light of day for quite some time. And, this is always a slightly unusual experience. Why? Because I see them with new eyes...I see them from the perspective of my current work. But, so often the clues to my current work are clearly visible in the older paintings. 

 

So I thought I'd upload a couple of the other works on paper we looked at today. They have been lying in my map drawers or stacked behind other paintings for a few years.

 

 

                           Alternate Universe Gouache on paper30 x 42 cm [Unframed] 2005

I had forgotten about Alternate Universe but I was very pleased to be reminded of it today, especially considering my interest in cosmology. The seeds were obviously there nearly 10 years ago. Please check out my COSMOLOGY page.

Rain Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm [Unframed] 2011

 

And Rain...I was happy that my buyer of Together And Apart liked Rain too. When I painted it a few years ago, I remember being at peace with it, because it sort of finished itself. I was really pleased to have had the opportunity to bring it out from its dark home in my map drawers.  

 

My next post will also have images of paintings that have been in the darkness of my map drawers for awhile. So, keep posted!

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

SIXTH SENSE

Watching The Universe Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm [unframed]

 

The farmer...was pointing out that the rain had the cotton crop’s attention – pointing out a change in demeanor of the crop that only a farmer could notice.

My brother, photographer Wilfred Brimblecombe, wrote this in a recent post on his BLOG Wilfred Brimblecombe: Photography, Stories, Ephemera future and past

It made me think about sixth sense...that feeling you get when you know something might happen, an intuition, a knowing, a connection.

Wilfred was writing about a photograph he had taken, a marvellous image of rain falling... but evaporating before hitting the ground. The photograph was taken on a farm not far from the grain farm where we both grew up. The owner of the property, where Wilfred took the photograph, is a childhood friend. He has been on the farm all his life, over half a century. You can see Wilfred's photograph by clicking HERE

In the foreground of the photograph is a cotton crop. The heavy clouds release rain, like a lace curtain against a far off sunset. Yet, the rain does not hit the ground. The flat horizon provides a clear and dramatic backdrop for the suspended rain...a suspended promise.

The farmer's sense of knowing...his sentient connection to his crop...as if he feels the crops relief that rain is on its way. Now that's interesting!

Elemental Oil on linen 50 x 94 cm 2009

 

SIXTH SENSE AND SNAKES!
I'll tell you about some more instances of sixth sense. And, these involve me and snakes.

As regular readers know, I grew up on a grain farm and then spent nearly two decades further west, in Goondiwindi, Queensland, Australia. We had many experiences with snakes on my parent's farm, especially during Spring and Summer. My brothers and I very quickly developed a sixth sense about where and when snakes might appear. I realise now that this was just part and parcel of being connected to the land...a knowing.

So to three snake stories...and there were many more than that...but three will do.

In Goondiwindi I lived on acreage outside town. I developed a large and beautiful garden. I mowed with a ride-on mower...it took me hours! Parts of the garden were more wild than others and if it had rained the long grass was rampant. I remember mowing grass that was about 60cm high. It was thick and lush and I had to force the mower through its density. I came to the outer garden fence, where there was a large gate, which I normally opened to mow both sides so the gate could open and shut easily. But, something held me back...a sense of dread...a sense of someone else being there. So instead of leaping off the mower, trudging through the grass to open the gate, I gingerly stood up, my feet straddling the mower. I could see a large, long, fat and luscious king brown snake entwined around the gate. Boy, did I sit down quickly, foot on the accelerator, going backwards.

On another occasion my brother Wilfred had come to visit us in Goondiwindi. We went for a walk in the garden and then took off over the paddock of long grass and assorted prickly plants. Suddenly I said to Wilfred, 'Stop!'. There was nothing under foot and no unusual sounds, but I had a sense of another presence. Sure enough, a huge king brown snake rustled through the grass heading towards the creek. Wilfred, almost sadly, lamented that after years of city dwelling he had lost the sixth sense of snake detection! Big sister still had it though!

But, my detection skills were not so good once I moved to the city too. Although one does not expect to see snakes in suburbia! Not long after I moved to the city I was walking along my street, just off the footpath, with some friends. It was dusk and we were going to a local restaurant for dinner. Suddenly I felt a strange tug at my skirt, at thigh height. I looked down at the same time as taking a powerful swipe with my hand. I saw the fangs of a snake gripping my skirt, lifting it out with the impact of my thwack! The snake released its grip landing a few meters away from us. We ran! I could not get over it...being struck by a snake in inner city suburbia, after years of frequent encounters with them out west. If I'd had a short skirt or pants on, the snake would probably have bitten me...ye gads!

Cosmic Dust Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm 2010

ENVIRONMENT
So, sixth sense? I suggest we develop it by close and recurrent interaction with our environment. We become almost one with the world, nature, patterns of life, systems. Farmers develop very acute sixth senses, like my brother's friend mentioned above. I am sure we all have various powers of sixth sense and intuition, but how are these affected as we become more separated from the natural world? We may develop other kinds of sixth sense that connect us to technology, but nature does seem to have a way of reminding us of its glorious power and strength in the face of the manmade! In fact, is it demanding us to take more notice of our separation from it?

COSMOLOGY
And, what does modern cosmological research expose to us? The outer reaches of our 'environment' must include the Universe, from the quantum to the cosmic. New close and far perspectives demand our attention...look up and out from your iPhone and computer screen! The star dust within us is calling, agitating for our attention. It feels the possibility of a connection beyond our Earthly horizons...as if it wants us to re-ignite its/our sixth sense in cosmic terms. Dormancy is not an option... is it?

Remembering The Reason Why Oil on linen 100 x 60 cm

LAST QUESTION
And, one last question for this post...And, if our sixth sense, in relation to land and nature is diminished, how does this parlay into concepts of landscape?

Infinity Oil on linen 100 x 70 cm 2011

 

Here are two other recent posts which also discuss possible outcomes of a separation from the natural world. Both are about cars and driving. Intrigued...click on the links.

LOOKING OUT THE WINDOWS
LOOKING IN THE REAR VISION MIRROR-COSMICALLY SPEAKING

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

NIGHT TIME ELECTRIC STORM

Night Time Electric Storm [Across The Flat Plain] Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm

 

 

In recent weeks wild electric storms have sparked their way across Queensland. A couple of weeks ago, around mid-day, I was caught in a wild storm as I was driving along the very busy Coronation Drive, here in Brisbane. I, and many other drivers, had to stop, turn on our warning lights and sit out the storm. We had to stop because the rain was so heavy there was no visibility. The wind played havoc with nearby trees and anything laying loose on the ground. Thankfully only small hail stones fell from the sky crashing harmlessly into my car. Much larger ones apparently pummelled properties, gardens and cars in neighbouring suburbs. I was lucky.

 

Again a couple of weeks ago I was caught in another storm, but managed to shelter under a service station's roof. This time it was dusk. As the night sky enveloped, lightning spectacularly lit up the sky. From my safe haven, I marvelled at nature's electric 'personality'. 

 

For readers from overseas, summer-time storms are common in Queensland and Australia. Often they do not produce much rain, but they certainly provide a spectacle and unfortunately they also often cause major damage. If there is rain, it can fall very heavily, causing flash flooding in both city and country.

 

These recent spectacular storms have reminded me of the storms I witnessesed and experienced as a child on my parent's farm on the flat treeless Pirrinuan Plain, betweeen Dalby and Jimbour, on Queensland's fertile Darling Downs. My childhood environ was often referred to 'God's own country' because the rich deep black soil could grow anything.

 

The flatness of the landscape, with its endless horizons [regular readers will know I have written about these before] provided a broad canvas for nature's displays. These included relentless blue skies with wisps of white clouds floating playfully, greenish coloured clouds menacingly promising hail and causing my Father distress about potential crop damage, and night time magic whispering from the twinkling Milky Way.  

 

Another night time sky was a totally black one. Totally black because storm clouds swamped the glitter of stars and suffocated moon shine. However, storms accompanied by electic lightning, provided a 'show' unlike any other. Flashes of stark white light seemingly from Heaven struck the ground with a shocking immediacy that both terrified and astonished. Momentary silhouettes of familiar landmarks and shapes transformed the landscape into a beautiful but almost night marish setting.

 

As a child, I was never really scared during these wild storms, yet I knew people [and animals] who were/are. Dogs particularly hate wild electric storms of lightening and thunder! I've owned a number of dogs who vigourously welcome being allowed inside during a storm.

 

Night Time Electric Storm [Across The Flat Plain] Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm

 

My new painting Night Time Electric Storm [Across The Flat Plain] is inspired by my childhood memories and recent storm events here in Brisbane. It is also triggered by photographs my brother Wilfred Brimblecombe has uploaded onto his new BLOG  particularly those he uploaded on posts dated December 1 and 2 [Pirrinuan Tornado]. These photographs are of our childhood landscape and they stir sentient memories of the open space and endless horizons, that embraced those who lived there in an ongoing performance, which demanded 'audience' participation. Without barriers, such as hills and mountains, bushland and forests the open space enveloped us.

There was and is no escape. No hiding.

 

In Night Time Electric Storm [Across The Flat Plain] I have painted a wild electric storm that lights up a night sky, revealing a silhouette of existence on a distant horizon. The silos on the right, a sign of human productivity, yet seemingly insignificant aganst electrically charged nature. Anyone who has exerienced nature's 'whiplash' through storm, hurricane, tornado, flood, fire, volcano, earth quake is humbled. The weaving red line, which I was compelled to paint, suggests potency, fertility, fury, passion. It tells us that underlying energy forces exist. It also draws us into the scene inviting us to be part of nature's passion.

 

I like the way the lightning appears like upside down trees...regular readers will know why. The age-old trancultural/religious tree-of-life symbol is a major visual guide in my work. The lightning seems to re-energise life at the same time as tantalisingly revealing life's core secrets [momentarily].

 

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

 

 



WHEN IT RAINED ON MARS?

  When It Rained On Mars? Oil on linen 85 x 150 cm

My new painting When It Rained On Mars? is a fanciful one! However, it is based on a proposition that billions of years ago Mars may have had the kind of atmosphere and temperature range that allowed for rain. This proposition was also mentioned in a fascinating presentation Saturday Night 'Live' which I recently attended at the Thomas Brisbane Planetarium 

Scientists base the proposition on various elements including geographical formations and geochemical analysis of Martian soils. However, the question whether rain fell or not, is still in the realms of the 'what if?' Here's a small selection of some interesting articles which discuss questions about water, rain and Mars. I'll leave it to you to do more research. There's a lot out there.

The Case Of The Missing Mar's Water Nasa Science 

Asteroids Comets may Have Caused Mar's Rain NASA

Scientists: It ONce Rained On Mars [Wired Science]

'WHEN IT RAINED ON MARS?' Oil on linen 85 x 150 cm

Now to my painting. Yes, it is a landscape! But, not an Earth bound one! The predominant redness is simply because Mars is called  the 'Red Planet' due to its reddish appearance in the night sky. The ancient Egyptians called it Har decher, which means 'Red One'. Even the name Mars [God of War] references the colour as one symbolic of strength, battles, blood, violence. But, apparently the colour is due to a thin dusty layer of iron oxide rust. Check out Why Mars is Called The Red Planet by John Carl Villanueva in Universe Today for  more information and further links.   

I've used my much loved age-old transcultural/religious tree-of-life to create the multi layered land formation and to indicate the universal and celestial connections that 'speak' of all life across the vast distances of time and space.

Strips of colourful 'rain' fall from the vibrantly red sky. I've painted these strips in varying colours because who knows what rain on Mars looked like! Who knows what affects light reflecting off water droplets falling through rusty red dust might look like! Who knows? But, it is great to imagine!

I've painted the strips of rain like I have painted strips of rain in my more obviously Earth bound landscapes. Why? Well, I grew up on a flat treeless plain outside Dalby, on the fertile Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. I then spent 18 years living further west in a place called Goondiwindi. I've spent many hours driving west, into the vast Australian landscape, witnessing the fall of rain as strips on distant horizons. I now live in the city, but strips of rain on the horizon stir my memories! Memories of hope and fear. Below are a couple of my Earth bound landscapes depicting strips of rain.

GLOBAL ISSUES OF WATER

Given global issues regarding to water, fresh water, I believe the notion of water on Mars, or anywhere else for that matter, strikes our imaginations making us feel less alone. Earth and the human body are %70 water. Yes, we are mostly water! There must be some kind of attraction, pull, urge, lure, magnetism between us and water, even hypothetical water! Our imaginations, or is it our will to survive, draws us towards water..the sustenance of life. Water equates with hope, which is the suggestion in the painting Hope In The Distance below. Issues of water also engender fear...fear of not having enough, fear of contamination, fear of dying.

 Hope In The Distance Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm 2010 SOLD

$oils Ain't $oils Anymore! Oil on linen 70 x 100 cm 2010 

COSMOLOGY

AT PURGATORY ARTSPACE

My next solo exhibition

Dates: Wednesday 30 January - Saturday 17 February
Opening Function: Saturday 9 February 2-4 pm: I will be there!
Address: 1st Floor 170 Abbotsford St, Nth Melbourne.
Gallery Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11am - 5pm
PH: 03 9329 1860

Purgatory Artspace is the project space attached to Gallery Smith.

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

ANIMALS

                                                DETAIL from painting I am still working on.

Recently I read an article, by Katrina Strickland, in the Australian Financial Review [AFR] called Artful Creatures In High Demand The article commented upon the popularity of animals in contemporary art. Given that the AFR is a newspaper focusing on economic and financial issues, the weekly Thursday SALEROOM section, in which this article appeared, is geared towards commentary on the art market. Katrina Strickland writes, ' Perhaps animals are a safe sell in tough times;' I suggest Strickland's comment has the ring of truth. Why? Because animals symbolise some kind of security, unconditional love, our connection with something 'real'.

The GFC, and its continuing global and local economic stressors, have left much of society feeling vulnerable, unsure and anxious. Pre GFC economic 'reality' evaporated seemingly overnight when 'houses of cards' fell. Animals seem to provide some kind of safe emotional haven. Please read my 2008 post about 'houses of cards' and the  implosion of financial fantasy HERE In this post I suggest that art's catalytic agency is to not just to be reflective, but also affective.When the two are combined there is a potent mix, but does this happen often?

In 2008, after a visit to Melbourne, I wrote a post in which I commented on the popularity of animal imagery. In this post I have postulated that animals provide some kind of security in stressful economic times. The popularity of animals, as well as half human/animal imagery, has continued. It is fascinating to think we may be seeing the reflection of society's emotional needs in the popularity of certain subject matter. But, does it affect change? Does it sedate us into another fantasy of security? Does, it divert our attention? Where's art's agency?

There is a long history of animals in art...from cave paintings to the present day. Animals have been depicted to record food sources, for entertainment. They have been ascribed mystic, sacred and symbolic meanings, and embodied knowledge. They have been depicted to illustrate the wonder of science and the beauty of the natural world. Indeed, they are fellow sentient beings, sharing planet Earth with us. They are important for many reasons. But, are contemporary depictions so 'safe' that they fall prey to caricature, colonising emotional spaces and diverting attention from the 'unsafe' world around us? If so, what are we missing? The answer to that question is both exciting and terrifying?


NEW PAINTING
So, I am working on a new painting that has nothing to do with animals! It is based on my recent small work on paper 'All Of Us' The photo above is a detail shot of the work in progress.

NEWS

• I have been invited to participate in the 2012 Tattersalls Landscape Art Prize, which will be announced on Wednesday September 5. I shall keep you updated.
• The Mandorla Art Prize is announced this Friday 10 August. My selected entry was sent over to Western Australia last week. Again, I shall keep you updated.
• Also, my entry into the Santos Acquisitive Art Prize in Roma has been selected as a finalist.  Entries had to reflect upon the 'benefits of La Nina- the abundance that follows rain'. As regular readers know, rain and water, have been important themes in my work for a long time. The prize is announced 31 August.

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

WATER GALLERY

                                            Airspace Above The Dam Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm
                               

Water is a major issue here in Australia, and indeed all over the world. In Australia, newspapers are currently covering the release of proposals about water allocations, including supply of water to farmers in the Murray Darling food bowl. Farmers are not happy and local communities are worried that reduced allocations will mean loss of jobs and social instability.

WATCHING THE SKY
As regular readers of my BLOG know, I have long held a fascination for water, how it used, allocated, and costed. I am a farmer's daughter and also lived, for 18 years of my adult life, in Goondiwindi, a small rural town on the border of New South Wales and Queensland. As a child I watched my father stare at cloudless blue skies, and also despair when flooding rains ripped top soil away and spoiled bumper crops. Goondiwindi was the same, with farmers staring at the sky, but it was slightly different, because irrigation played a significant part of the rural experience. Cotton is a substantial crop grown in northern NSW on the border with Queensland.

RISK
Water is also an issue with the surge in coal mining, and particularly coal seam gas extraction [CSG]. Water, is a 'byproduct' of the extraction process, but under legislation this water does not come under the control of Water Resources. So, there are a number of issues now confronting communities at large, as well as those immediately affected eg: Dalby [where I grew up] and district. These issues are various, from the potential to reduce underground aquifer levels, to how to deal with the salt water byproduct, to potential contamination, to broader issues of adequate infrastructures of all kinds. The major risk, as I see it, is that lack of foresight...lack of stringent risk analysis...could lead to diminished soil and water viability, and thus the reduction of food growing capacity. I have written  about risk http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/09/risk.html

CURRENT - CURRENCY
I have written previously about all of the things I have mentioned above. But, with water being such a current [I like to play on the word 'current'] issue I thought I'd make an online 'gallery' of some of my water paintings. This is certainly not all of them, plus I have ideas for more. I will be exhibiting some of the newer ones in my solo exhibition 'Vortex' next year 22 Feb- 6 March. After all...water disappears down a drain pipe in a vortex! But, metaphorically the turmoil, stress and strain fraught by water and its various issues, are akin to what I imagine the frantic whirling of an outer edges of a vortex to be like.

Enjoy my 'gallery'.....................................and look for the small $ signs and quotes from newspapers. The far and close distance perspectives are important reminders that we must always look and also see!

              

Blue Gold Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/05/shift.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/02/water.html

Cyclical Gouache on  paper 30 x 42 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/06/cyclical.html

Truth Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/06/truth.html

Water Harvesting Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/06/water-harvesting.html

Great Artesian Basin Gouache on paper 30 x42 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/08/airspace-and-phantoms.html

Risk Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/09/risk.html

Phantom Water Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/08/airspace-and-phantoms.html

Tendering Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/04/tendering.html

Hope In The Distance Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/03/hope-in-distance.html

Thank Goodness [It's Raining] Oil on linen 90 x 207 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2007/07/thank-goodness.html

Earth For Sale Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2008/07/earth-for-sale-120-x-160-cm-oil-on.html

Lifeblood Oil on linen 90 x 207 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/10/water.html

Cheers, Kathryn

                                              

HOPE IN THE DISTANCE

                                            Hope In The Distance Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm 2010 SOLD



This painting is the one I wrote about in a recent post. I was still working on the painting at the time, but I shared my inspiration, which travelled from rain in the distance, to hope, to literal and metaphoric horizons. Here's what I wrote:

I am working on a painting at the moment and my ideas have revolved around issues of water and rain, plus what they represent at emotional and even spiritual levels. Regular readers will know that water is of great interest to me and that it has been a sub theme within my broader interests in perspective, distance and the space between the micro/local and macro/global. Overarching all of this is my compulsion to explore the potential of archetypes to perhaps reveal universal connections that mean something to us in the 21st century.This new painting which I am currently working on, is essentially about hope. I am calling it 'Hope In The Distance' because it is, at first glance, a painting of strips of rain on the horizon.

When I lived in Western Queensland, strips of rain would appear on distant horizons, often cruelly tantalising us with the potential for much needed rain. But, horizons, as metaphors for our lives cascade into so much possibility, because as I have written before, horizons can be both close and far. Our eyes, of eye ball and pupil, see horizons as existing in the far distance, but our eyes trick us, because we are essentially always present upon horizons which exist at all universal and nano distances around us. Our mind's eye can 'see' these multitudinous horizons so much clearer than our eye of eye ball and pupil, especially if we discard one dimensional and simple notions of distance and perspective.

I am reminded of a quote I used in my artist's statement for my show 'Distance' in London in 2002. The quote is from Walter Benjamin's Illuminations where he describes aura as, the unique phenomenon of a distance, however close it may be. The word 'aura' has new age connotations, but I think, whether we know it or not, we are all searching for an experience and an understanding of aura. Maybe this is the unviversal search and that at each era, the agelessness of archetypal symbols offer clues to a discovery or a depended understanding of aura. We just have to keep investigating their potential. I think the investigation may require us to rely more on our mind's eye rather than always relying on our eye of eye ball and pupil...the two need to work together questioning everything.

My thoughts about multitudinous horizons have given me glimpses of the phenomenon of aura! These glimpses slip away as I try to grasp an understanding, but my hope is that as I discard old ways of 'seeing' I might come to a fuller experience of aura. Indeed, as we live locally in an increasingly globalised world, we are all actually forced to collapse notions of distant horizons, as we experience contemporary life. I suppose the hope is that the experience is understood as being potentially transforming in a positive way for all humanity.
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'Hope In The Distance' Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm
The tree-of-life creates a land formation which seems like a mountain or a hill in the foreground. The branches of the tree suggest underground systems of water, minerals, roots, animal burrows etc. The five strips of rain fall from a potent sky of red and blue. These strips of rain represent hope, hope of sustenance. As an aside, the current floods 'out west' will provide deep subsoil sustenance and replenishment of underground aquifers for some time, but the devastation of homes, infrastucture and livestock is brutal.

Yet, this painting got me thinking about things beyond rain, drought and floods. It got me thinking about connections. The strips of rain are like conduits connecting earth and sky, body and soul, mind and God. The tree-of-life transcends the material, by imposing its true potential, which is the fullness of life...of humanity. In this way the immediate suggested horizon vanishes, because humanity encompasses past, present and future. All three of these time phases are horizons in a sense, but when experienced simultaneously horizons disappear, perspective evaporates and distance has no meaning.

TO REMEMBER
FRISSON Solo exhibition
Graydon Gallery, 29 Merthry Rd, New Farm, Brisbane
EXHIBITION DATES: 16-28 March [***From 1pm-6pm Tuesday 16]
OPENING NIGHT: Thursday 18 March 5.30-8 pm
Gallery is open daily 10 am -6pm ***

SOME NEWS
I went to the inaugural TEDx Brisbane on Saturday 6 March http://www.tedxbrisbane.com/ It was really great and certainly generated some ideas worth spreading.

WATER

Some of the images below have been posted to my BLOG previously, but a few conversations over the last couple of weeks have prompted me to reload them as a group. These conversations have been about that age-old and very important topic of water. When weather conditions are perfect water is not necessarily a topic of conversation, but when there is not enough or too much water, then anxieties, hopes and frustrations are expressed in conversation. Currently , in my part of the world ie: SE Queensland we are experiencing a severe lack of rain. Whilst there were good falls earlier in the year they have not continued. Gardens are dry, farmers look imploringly at the sky, bush fires are raging in the dry conditions, dust storms have recently enveloped us and so on. Not surprisingly people are talking about water and rain.

Seeping Into The Intimate Vastness Oil on linen 80 x 100 cm 2008 http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/06/seeping-into-intimate-vastness.html

As readers of my BLOG know I grew up on a grain farm outside Dalby on the Darling Downs, Queensland. My parents farm was in what is known as 'God's own country' as the black soil was rich and deep. In fact, on the Pirrinuan Plain, where my parent's farm sat centre stage, the top soil is the deepest in the Southern Hemisphere. My grandfather farmed on this land for over 40 years and my father took over in the early 60s when weather patterns changed and he [unlike my grandfather] could not rely on rain arriving at the right and same times every year. I've seen my parents and other farmers despair over the lack of rain, as they watch newly sprouted seedling crops strain under parched conditions. Yet, I have also seen the horror of severe flooding where top soil is wripped away, and beautiful crops are flattened by heavy rain and often hail. From a very young age I knew that rain and water meant many things, but I also knew it meant money, prosperity and more relaxed parents!


Lifeblood Oil on linen 90 x 200 cm 2008/9

Lifeblood above, is a large painting where I have painted the strips of rain in small $ signs. The underground water and surrounding soil are also painted with $ signs. The red ribbon like vein in the sky is painted with $ signs. From a distance the viewer does not recognise that this painting contans any $ signs, but when up close they are revealed. Readers of my BLOG know that I am intensely interested in the viewer's experience of close and far distance and the impact this may have on developing flexible skills in perspective. The viewer's experience is a metaphor for how we need to 'see' the globalised world in which we live locally. We need to be able to see another person's point of view, understand another's culture, put ourselves in another person's shoes in order to have compassion for ourselves and others.

Here is the link to my previous post about "Lifeblood' http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/05/lifeblood.html

Thank Goodness [It's Raining]! Oil on linen 92 x 207 cm 2007 This painting above was inspired by those exclamations farmers make when it does rain. 'Thank God', 'Thank Goodness' and 'About bloody time!' These sorts of exclamations are really expressions of gratitude with all the emotions gratitude contains. I have used my much loved, tree-of-life motif as a visual conduit which could represent underground systems, mountains, a strata of the earth as if cut in cross section. The 'rain' falls from a dark blue sky, but the rain is red. I often paint rain in red because this colour represents fertility and a sense of vascular life forces. Rain and water are like the blood of the earth.

Here is the link to my previous post for 'Thank Goodness [It's Raining]!http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2007/07/thank-goodness.html

It Looks Hopeful Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm unframed 2009

The sense of hope which farmers must have is like a faith. I wrote about faith in my last BLOG post and I have to say that as a farmer's daughter I have witnessed incredible expressions of faith from my father and other farmers. I also saw this when I lived in the small rural Queensland but highly diversified town of Goondiwindi for 18 years. Faith is a kind of 'knowing' which seems inexplicable but is felt at deep core levels of our being. Faith and hope are two of the most important characteristics farmers or anyone living in rural communities must have.

Now I am going to write something which may seem odd, but artists are like farmers! We must have faith in processes which we may or may not understand. We must get to a point where needing to understand is not paramount, because we recognise that creative forces are never ending. We must have faith that we can tap into these forces, and that when we have impasses where things do not seem to flow, we 'know' to walk away to 'let' the congestion unravel. We 'plant' after we have made all the necessary and technical preparations and then as we work we 'manage' complex creative and technical processes simultaneously. Our medium becomes an extension of ourselves, just as a good farmer after making all the necessary technical applicatons and seeking appropriate informaton can 'know' at his/her core if something resonates as the right thing to do.

Water Harvesting Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm 2009

I have written previously about this painting 'Water Harvesting'
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/06/water-harvesting.html

Answer To A Prayer Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm unframed 2009

Being grateful for rain!

Cyclical Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm unframed 2009

Here is the previous post I wrote about 'Cyclical' . Quite interesting if I say so myself!

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/06/cyclical.html

Fertile Sky Gouache on linen 30 x 42 cm unframed 2009


Some other 'Water' posts:

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/02/water.html
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/06/currency-of-water.html

I am still working on my latest large painting which I am going to call 'Halo'. It is 90 x 200 cm and I am spending hours working away and going through the inevitable ups and downs of the creative process.

Cheers,

Kathryn