FLICK OF A SWITCH: Some thoughts about two films.

 Super Earths Discovered Oil on linen 80 x 140 cm 2013

PLANET
By Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox

It’s time for Earthlings to flee their dying planet. Another home has been prepared. The escape ships have been built.

One by one the people arrive, ready and anxious to embark.

Nervous excitement soars as count-down commences.

The last few seconds... 3-2-1

Blast off!

A sensation of flight.

For some, the simulated experience is so comforting - the subterfuge unbelievable.


For others - a real blast off, towards a new life.

Other Worlds Ahoy! Oil on linen 80 x 90 cm 2013

Planet
The short [very short!] story above, which I wrote a few months ago, suggests a population of haves and have nots, entitled and not entitled, chosen and not. Those who are chosen and entitled appear to have taken steps to ensure they safely flee a dying planet. This is at the same time as those less fortunate, less rich or entitled are duped into a simulated experience that ultimately spells their fiery demise.

There's a suggested conspiracy! And, that is...living life vicariously through simulated experiences, enabled by technology, may be a trick, a lie...a socially engineered outcome to facilitate freedom for the elite.

Stories
Stories of inequality with regards to safety, treatment and opportunity are rife throughout history. Social class, religion, education, money, race have all been used to justify a range of inequities from unequal opportunities to perceived value of life. Think of the sinking of the Titanic where the poorer classes were not given access to life rafts. Think of Hitler's sick and arrogant obsession with the importance of an Arian race, and his evil degradation of the Jews. Think of apartheid. And, there are more...

Still, today we have those who consider themselves the anointed and the entitled. At worst, wars ensue as the entitled try to hold onto their supporting structures in the face of unrest, criticism and change. At best, we have the social pages!

The Hunger Games and Elysium
All of this brings me to two films. One I saw awhile ago and the other I saw last weekend. The first one was 'The Hunger Games' and the second was 'Elysium'. Both films are mainstream big Hollywood type productions. Both pick up on undercurrents in society as they articulate inequality via extreme divides...chasms actually...between those who consider themselves anointed, special and/or chosen by virtue of various characteristics such as financial wealth, social class, looks, fashion...and those who seemingly have nothing, except their wits and intelligence, integrity and guts. Oh, and the latter are normally physically more adept, fitter and stronger. That's not to say the self-anointed are not intelligent though. Their intelligence is a more convergent type of intelligence with narcissistic attributes, whereas the underdog community displays a more creative and street-smart type of intelligence.

When I saw 'The Hunger Games' I felt a sense of loss for days. The depiction of the self-anointed playing computer-like hunting games with people [including children] considered less important, was depressing. The fusing of reality and simulation was un-nerving. The fact that, with a flick of a switch, predatory and sinister characters could be introduced to the game, to maim and kill the unfortunate, struck me as a reminder that we are all, in a sense, increasingly controlled by the switch. Yet the main heroine Katniss, and her accompanying hero Peeta, valiantly and intelligently reveal holes in the slippery and fashionable 'armour' of the anointed/chosen.

The over-the-top fashion, worn and paraded by the anointed, reduces them to mere caricature, but they are dangerous, because in the making of caricature, they are emptied of empathy, love and humanity. However, the non-entitled surprise the anointed by winning the game...but the viewer is made very aware that further turmoil is in store. Hence there's a second 'Hunger Games' movie coming out soon. I have not read the books, so I do not know what happens. My daughter, who has read them all, does though!

Elysium
Now to 'Elysium'. Again, a story of the self-anointed using and abusing those who are not perceived as being the same. An artificial world hovering above Earth has been created for the chosen who have fled the ailing and sick planet. The less fortunate, the non-chosen, remain on Earth. Their colourless lives, literal and metaphoric, are characterised by poverty and sickness. They work, if they have a job, in industries making the gadgetry, goods and cyborgs required for the perfection on Elysium.

The inequality is reinforced by filmic use of perspective. Those on Earth look up to the visible Elysium, a shining beacon of beauty and perfection hovering in the sky, yet seemingly unattainable. And, from Elysium people look down to Earth, the degraded planet. But, I don't think up and down in space is as simple as that! It's only when Max, the main character, in a reminiscing scene from his childhood, is shown a photo of Earth that the perspective shifts and hope is ignited. Essentially the have-nots are saved by the wit and muscle of a few of their own. But, it's a flick of the switch that ultimately changes everything, saves the day and makes all people on Earth citizens with the same rights as those on Elysium.

Yet, in my mind, the 'message' in 'Elysium' is not about everyone being citizens of Earth - it's about being citizens of the Universe. The flick of the switch has the potential for all to stop looking just up and down, but around and beyond, to invisible horizons.

The notion that a flick of the switch can determine life, death, belonging and identity is interesting. These two films, for me at least, reveal a lot about the complexities of human desire, hope and fear in an age where technology is a partner with us in life's journey. It partners in various roles eg: as an assistant, entertainer, educator, augmenter and more. But what if these roles mutate into things less benign? In both films, characters who hurriedly program computers with codes, replaced codes, new codes and changed codes, at one instant appear to have control , but at another instant, appear to lose or abdicate control. Yes, what is real? And, what kind of partner do we want technology to be?

All Of Us Gouache on paper 15 x 21 cm 2012

COSMIC ADDRESS

Is my next solo exhibition

in Brisbane

15-27 October

Please check out  my

COSMIC ADDRESS PAGE

for all the details!

___________________________________________________________________________

TATTERSALLS LANDSCAPE ART AWARD

On Friday I deliver my entry to the Tattersall's Landscape Art Award which is announced next Thursday 5th September. The art award is by invitation and I am delighted to have been asked again this year. My entry is Super Earths Discovered, the painting at the top of this post. I shall keep you posted!!

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

FROM HERE TO THERE AND EVERYWHERE

From Here To There And Everywhere Oil on linen 50 x 110 cm 2013

 

My new painting From Here To There And Everywhere is another 'landscape' that attempts to disrupt concepts of what and where landscape is. Regular readers will know of my intent to question how we conceive and perceive landscape, especially against a backdrop of contemporary cosmological research which propels perspective/s to limitless horizons. I think questioning is important. Why? Because, our entanglement with traditional ideas of landscape tethers perception to a well oiled groove, like a stuck record. And, this perception is not simply about how we perceive landscape, but also in our relationship with it, how we perceive ourselves.

 

New perspectives, revealed to us by cosmology, afford us the opportunity to recalibrate our perceptions of 'landscape' and in this process we ultimately see ourselves differently. Maybe this will ignite new ways of managing the sustainability of the planet and life on it?

 

My catchcry Earth maybe our home, but the Universe is our environment is a driving force for much of my work. In my imagination I travel the Universe [even Multiverse] and see 'landscapes' of all kinds. As regular readers know I grew up in the Australian landscape of Western Queensland, Australia. It tends to be my imaginal launching pad from which I 'fly' here there and everywhere. Now you see where the title for my new painting comes from!

 

From Here To There And Everywhere is ambiguous and deliberately so. It forces questions! Where are we? How did we get here, there or even everywhere? Are we in a space-craft, on another planet or still on Earth? The mountain range is familiar, but not. It seems to demand attention, as do the planet-like balls hovering on the other side of the mountains. Why do the mountains seem to float? It's as if they have been released...yes...untethered! They are representative of my ideas of untethering landscape...untethering it from the ties that force it to travel the well worn groove that forces the same perspective over and over again.

 

New cosmological research is inviting us, even demanding us, to experiment with new perspectives. I suggest we now have an opportunity to even develop skills in 'seeing' multiple perspectives simultaneously. How cool and sophisticated that would be! More importantly how significant it would be for our perception of landscape, our relationship with it and ultimately our perception of ourselves.

 

 

From Here To There And Everywhere follows another recent painting called Multiple Landscapes

 

Multiple Landscape Oil on linen 80 x 140 cm 2013

 

 

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COSMIC ADDRESS

Is my next solo exhibition

in Brisbane

15-27 October

Please check out  my

COSMIC ADDRESS PAGE

for all the details!

I have added some more images in the last week.


_____________________________________________________________

A post that has been getting a bit of attention recently is:

LOOKING OUT THE WINDOWS

It was inspired, in part, by something TOP GEAR'S Jeremy Clarkson wrote in a car review.

Interested???

Click HERE

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 AND

Did you read my celebratory post about my 7 years blogging, posting once a week.

You can read it HERE

There's a online exhibition of a couple of paintings from each of the 7 years too!


Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

 

THE AROMA OF EUCALYPTS

 Knitted Time Gouache on paper 75.5 x 56 cm 1995
 

 

COLLABORATION 1995
In 1995 I painted a series of works on paper that were inspired by a manuscript an author friend, Lesley Synge, had written. I did not illustrate the manuscript, but used it as a stimulus...and it was marvellous. The collaboration has been ongoing...in fits and exciting starts since then. And, now there's an e-book [more about this below].

 

KNITTED TIME 1996
In 1996 I exhibited the works on paper in a solo exhibition called KNITTED TIME at a gallery in Brisbane called Whitebox. This gallery was the precursor to the innovative Soapbox Gallery which closed a few years ago. In both instances the driving force was artist Franz Ehmann. Franz was born in Austria and I have great gratitude for him, because he exhibited my paintings when I was still living in Goondiwindi, in Western Queensland. This was at a time when arts bureaucracies tagged artists living outside cities with 'regional artist'. It sounds quite innocuous, but it was loaded with agenda-driven expectations that were very limiting. Franz, however, was not interested in tags...indeed when you come from Europe, what indeed would 'regional artist' mean? A worldly view like Franz's was so refreshing! When I moved to Brisbane I continued to exhibit at Soapbox until it closed. Its closure was a loss for Brisbane.

 

Knitted Time was a terrific exhibition. I had the paintings hanging around the walls at different heights. I also had small shelves made to hold items which linked to Lesley's manuscript. These items included ripped knitting patterns and leaves. Lesley's story was set at Ma Ma Creek, which is an area at the bottom of the Great Dividing Range, below Toowoomba in Queensland. The characters in the story were linked to landscape in many and interesting ways. So, I spread eucalyptus leaves all over the gallery floor...and it was quite a large space. At the opening people walked on the leaves and a wonderful eucalypt aroma wafted through the space and into the surrounding areas. Over the period of the exhibition the leaves dried, but the aroma continued.

 

 

Blood Of Possibility Mixed media on paper 75.5 x 56 cm 1995

 

 

MORE COLLABORATION 2002 AND AN E-BOOK 2014

There have been a few other events that Lesley and I have been involved with since 1995. Indeed, for Lesley there was the exciting publication of her manuscript as a book called Cry Ma Ma To The Moon! It was published in 2002 by Interactive Press, Brisbane, as the winner of Best Fiction IP Picks 2002 [under the name Singh]. I'm delighted to say that a painting of mine is on the front cover. Here's a little about the book...taken from its back cover.

 

Autumn. The Earth shifts and Bess begins to knit a jumper for the man she loves. She obtains wool from Clare who lives in an alternative community at Ma Ma Creek, a woman knowledgeable in the art of using eucalyptus leaves to dye wool. But with Clare’s skeins, Bess gets more than she bargained for and, as she knits, her familiar world unravels.

Set in the forests of south-eastern Queensland, Australia, Cry Ma Ma to the Moon is a story of trees and poetry, blueberries and potions, and of men, women and passion.

 

NOW for even more exciting news:

 

Cry Ma Ma To The Moon
is now available as an e-book!

 

AND

 

there are 23 paintings of mine, one at the beginning of each chapter.
And, my painting Magic Lady is on the front cover.

You can buy the e-book at AMAZON
You can also preview the book on the AMAZON page

 

 

 

Spirited Team Gouache on paper 102 x 75 cm 1995

 

 

Lesley Synge's website is:        ZING STORIES

Franz Ehmann's website is:     SOAPBOX GALLERY

 

 

MORE NEWS

 

The Seeing Stars exhibition and art prize opens tonight 13 August at the Yarra Gallery, Federation Square, Melbourne. My painting Where? is one of the finalists. The exhibition and prize is a celebration of the SKA [Square Kilometre Array] which will be the world's largest and most sensitive telescope, and proudly co-hosted by Australia. You can check out the Seeing Stars website HERE and see the finalists HERE

 

Where? Oil on linen 50 x 50 cm 2013

 

 

COSMIC ADDRESS

Is my next solo exhibition

in Brisbane

15-27 October

Please check out  my

COSMIC ADDRESS PAGE

for all the details!

 

 

SOLD

 

In my last post I mentioned I had some paintings in the Brisbane Grammar School Art Show.

This painting Elemental Dance  SOLD!

 

Elemental Dance Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm 2012

 

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

7 YEARS BLOGGING BIRTHDAY-Online Exhibition

 Mountains and Metaphors Oil on linen 80 x 200 cm 2005

To read about this painting please click HERE and HERE

 

 

It is seven years this month since I started my BLOG

 

 

Art @ Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox 

FLYING SOARING...IRRESISTIBLY...We're all the same.

 

 Unlimited Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm 2005

So, I decided to celebrate by choosing a couple of paintings from each year since 2005...I know one year before I started the BLOG... but these paintings featured in those early meanderings.

 

If you are interested in purchasing any of the paintings please contact me through

this BLOG or my website contact page

Shared History Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm 2006

  

Sending Love Oil on linen 90 x 180 cm 2007

 

 

 Into The Symphony Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm 2008

To read more about this painting please click HERE and HERE

 

 Seeping Into The Intimate Vastness Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm 2008

 In The Garden Of  Eden Oil on linen 50 x 94 cm 2009

To read about my Adam and Eve series please click HERE

 

 

 Halo Oil on linen 82 x 182 cm 2009

 The Beginning Of Everything Oil on linen 90 x 180 cm 2010

 

 

Cosmic Dust Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm 2010

 

 Underground Currency Oil on linen 80 x 100 cm 2011

 Gate Oil on linen 100 x 100 cm 2011

 Perpetual Beginning Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm 2011

This painting is in the Brisbane Grammar Art Show 9-10 August 2013

 Meeting Place Of The Mind Oil on linen 100 x 70 cm 2011

 Eternity's Breath Oil on linen 85 x 150 cm 2012

This painting will be in my next solo exhibition COSMIC ADDRESS

Details HERE

 Cosmic Ouroboros Oil on linen 120 x 150 cm 2012

Cosmic Ouroboros is the most popular post on my BLOG

This painting will be in my next solo exhibition COSMIC ADDRESS

Details HERE

 

 Hope Oil on linen 80 x 140 cm 2013

                        This painting will be in my next solo exhibition COSMIC ADDRESS

Details HERE

 

                                   

Cosmic Address Oil on linen 90 x 180cm 2013

This painting will be in my next solo exhibition, also called COSMIC ADDRESS

Details HERE

 

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Brisbane Grammar School Art Show. I was invited to exhibit again this year. I have six paintings-4 oil on linen -including Perpetual Beginning above and 2 works on paper in the exhibition. Dates are 9-10 August at the BGS school. It is their Open Day on Saturday 10 August. Click HERE for details.

 

• The Seeing Stars Art Award hosted by the world's largest telescope the SKA [Square Kilometre Array] is being hung this week. The opening at federation Square, Melbourne will be Tuesday 13 August. My painting Where? is a finalist in the award. To see all the finalists please click HERE  Shall keep you posted!

 

• Tattersall'a Landscape $25,000 Art Award 2013. I have again been invited to enter a painting into this great art prize and exhibition. The award is announced on September 5 at Brisbane's Tattersall's Club. From September 9-20 it will be on public view at Waterfront Place, 1 eagle St, Brisbane CBD. Shall keep you posted!

 

 

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

 

 

The Girl May Leave The Country, But The Country Never Leaves The Girl.

 Two Horizons Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm 2002

 

On Thursday and Friday last week I went on an adventure to Outback Queensland. I flew from Brisbane to Roma and then was driven to Mitchell, which is about an hour west of Roma. I had a great time!

 

I went out west to judge the Mitchell Art Show. When I was invited to be the judge, a few months ago, I jumped at the opportunity to return to the country and look at art. And, none of it disappointed.

 

The very active local Mitchell Art Group has been hosting the annual art show and competition for 14 years. It is an efficiently run exercise that attracts art from the local area and further afield. Local art shows are incredibly important for all sorts of reasons. I take my hat off to the organisers of the Mitchell Art Show and all the contributors. I spent 18 years being involved, with many others, in the Goondiwindi Art Show and I know what it's like to be organiser, exhibitor, hanger, provider, and more!

 

I judged painting, sculpture and photography sections, plus a couple of junior sections. The Maranoa Art Gallery, in the main street of Mitchell, is a great space. It is obviously a cultural hub for the townspeople and for those who live in the surrounding region.

 

The overall winner was a young grade 12 student from Roma, Darcy Foott. He won with an amazing photograph. It is an image which takes an iconic piece of rural infrastructure ie: the high water tank into new perspectives! The tank stand was under-lit in a theatrical manner revealing a kind of sculptural essence. Darcy had taken a shot looking upwards capturing the tank stand's lit underbelly and then taking the viewer beyond to the glittering night sky.

 

Many people drove for an hour or more to attend the opening on Friday night. It was a fun night where, after speeches by me, organises and sponsors, I settled into lots of chatting, plus catching up with old school friends!

 

And, because you normally see photos of me in my painting gear, here's a photo of me all dressed up for the Art Show opening.

 

 

 

 

TWO HORIZONS Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm

 

I chose to upload Two Horizons with this post, because it reflects the country/city elements of my life. I am sure many people can relate to this, for all sorts of reasons. This was painted in 2002, so over ten years ago. There's an old saying...it goes something like this...The girl may leave the country, but the country never leaves the girl.

 

 

Please check out my LAST POST: MULTIPLE LANDSCAPES!

Why? Because I have been so busy lately I have not done any painting...so if you'd like to read about my recent work please check out MULTIPLE LANDSCAPES

 

 

COSMIC ADDRESS

My next exhibition:

15 to 27 October 2013 at Graydon Gallery, Brisbane.

I am really excited about this show. Shall keep you posted!

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

MULTIPLE LANDSCAPES

Multiple Landscapes Oil on linen 80 x 140 cm

In this post:

 

1. Some words for Multiple Landscapes

2. Photos of Multiple Landscapes in progress

 3. Finalist in 'Seeing Stars' Art Award. Hosted by the SKA [Square Kilometre Array, the world's largest telescope]

 

1. Multiple Landscapes
Regular readers will know of my interest in the concept of seeing multiple perspectives, literal and metaphoric. I suggest that skills in seeing multiple perspectives, even simultaneously, are imperative as we move through the 21st century. The cavalcades of new discoveries about the Universe demand it.

So, to my new painting Multiple Landscapes. Yes, it is a 'loaded' title. It can be 'read' as a painting of
two literal landscapes, maybe even more if the viewer sees landscape in the negative spaces. Yet, I was thinking a bit more deeply than that! These are some of those thoughts [but not all of them!!!]:

MACRO-MICRO

•  The landscape on the right is representative of the macro world, the world of vastness, great size and distance. The other, almost 'mirror' landscape, is representative of the micro world, that dimension that embraces its own type of vastness, one that cannot be seen, yet holds energy forces that drive existence. The two 'sides' of landscape encapsulate the concept of the ouroboros, the age-old symbol of the snake eating its own tail, used by modern cosmologists to visually describe the relationship between the cosmic and quantum worlds. Regular readers will know that I have used this symbol in my paintings. Here are a couple of links COSMIC OUROBOROS and OUROBOROS

PSYCHE

• I was thinking that 'landscape' is a metaphor for psyche. The seemingly mirrored landscapes in Multiple Landscapes could be variously the conscious and subconscious, the ego and shadow, order and disorder, being awake and dreaming. The negative spaces offer a tantalising suggestion that there's more to discover.

AMBIGUITY

• I was keen to make the orientation of the landscapes somewhat ambiguous. Yet, as I have presented the painting above ie: horizontally, the tops of the mountains 'read' as the horizon. Yet, the 'bottom' of the landscapes can also be 'read' as an horizon. When flipped on its side the painting takes on another perspective.

UN-TETHERING LANDSCAPE

• Regular readers will know of my interest in un-tethering concepts of landscape from being Earth-bound. In an age where cosmological research is revealing more and more about the close and far distances of the Universe, I believe it is important that concepts of 'landscape' extend to embrace cosmic perspectives. Why? Because these kinds of perspective clearly show that Earth is our home and the Universe is our environment. We have nowhere else to go [at least for the long present!], so we'd better look after our home. With Multiple Landscapes I was also thinking about a Universal 'landscape' that reaches across time and space. I have previously written about my ideas on un-tethering landscape...here's one previous post UNTETHERED LANDSCAPE
• A recent article 'Can The U.S. Create A National Park On The Moon' reveals a lot about attachment. It also scarily heralds a need to really question our behaviour towards 'landscape' in the broadest sense. Imagine if Earthly nations started pegging out Space, colonising with a national identity. 'Navel gazing' leads to small horizons and potentially dangerous actions, because the perspective used is not multi-dimensional.

2. Photos of Multiple Landscapes in progress:

There are more photos in my last post INSPIRATION AND PROCESS

  Early preparation

 Building the layers of colour

Time to ponder is an important part of my process...I sit and ponder - What next?...if anything. Pondering gives time for the realisation that something may or may not need more.

 

3. 'Seeing Stars' Art Award

My painting Where? [image below] is a finalist in the 'Seeing Stars' Art Award.

'Seeing Stars' is a celebration of art and astronomy inspired by the world's largest telescope - the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) which will be co-hosted here in Australia. 

Click HERE to find details of the finalists. When you are on the page, click OPEN FINALISTS and you will be taken to a page which shows all the finalists artwork.

There were around 2,000 entries with 177 finalists. I am very excited about my painting being one of them.

I will be sending Where? to Melbourne for the exhibition of finalists works, which will be at Federation Square from August 13. The judges will be deciding a winner at this.

VOTE:
You can be involved too. There's a vote for a 'People's Choice'. On the page of images 'Where?' is first on the third row...that's if you want to vote for me!!! To vote...for any work...you tick 'My Favourite' and then at the top of the page there is a 'Submit' button.

I previously wrote about Where? in a post called LOOKING IN THE REAR VISION MIRROR

 

For more information about the SKA...and it is exciting and fascinating...please click HERE

Where? Oil on linen 50 x 50 cm 2013

Oh...and one last thing...please check out my new page COSMIC ADDRESS ...getting ready for my solo exhibition COSMIC ADDRESS in Brisbane in October!


Until next time!
Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

INSPIRATION AND PROCESS

Paolo Uccello The Battle of San Romano Tempera on panel 182 x 317 cm c.1438-40
National Gallery in London

Click HERE to see all three The Battle of San Romano paintings together.

 

 

What inspires me? Lots of things, too many to list. But, I will write about a few here.

 

And, why did I place 'process' in the title with 'inspiration'? As you will see I am inspired by the processes I use and the surprises they provide.

Regular readers will know that cosmology, age-old symbols, ideas...all inspire me. But, I thought I'd gather in some of those inspirations I have not written about as much or at all.

 

Firstly let's concentrate on a couple of inspirations that are not part of my literal process, but still hit me in the guts or heart or brain...or all three at once.

 

 

PAOLO UCCELLO  1397 -1475

I have to start with an artist who I have loved since I first encountered his work in my secondary school art class. He is the early Renaissance Florentine artist is Paolo Uccello . I did not see his three Battle of San Romano paintings in the flesh, so to speak, until I was in my mid twenties. The first encounter was at the National Gallery in London [painting above], then the Uffizi in Florence and the Louvre in Paris. The London and Florence paintings are the ones that moved me the most. When I first saw them I had physical reactions...heart missed a beat, gut felt like it had been turned inside out [in a good way!], and my brain was just so excited.

 

What do I love about the painting above? The answer involves the patterning, movement, action, colours, the pastoral landscape, the composition which moves the eye effortlessly around the image, and Uccello's early experiments with perspective. The answer also involves something I cannot explain, but I definitely feel very strongly. In 2002 I spent 6 weeks in London, when I had my own show there. I regularly visited the National Gallery to see the The Battle of San Romano. The feeling did not diminish...a feeling of expectancy.

 

In 2002 Dr Sally Butler wrote an article for Eyeline magazine about Cutlines, a major painting/installation I exhibited at Brisbane's Soapbox Gallery [now closed]. A 120 x 900 cm work on paper wrapped around two walls of a room in the gallery. In her article Butler wrote in reference to my sense of landscape:

 

In this regard the work of Italian painter Paolo di Dono Uccello (1397-1475) is a strong influence for the artist. There is a plastic strength in Uccello's paintings that derives from his interest in geometry and his fascination with the way forms can be arranged in a pattern or scheme that is meaningful in itself. His art promotes the notion of a geometry of our environment, or more particularly, how we formulate a geometry of our environment in order to understand it. Kathryn Brimblecome-Fox's landscapes share this plasticity and sense of spatial organisation that comes from within.
Eyeline 49 Spring 2002 P.38

 

But let's propel ourselves from the fifteenth century to now. I was recently alerted to a French musician who calls himself Woodkid He is also a songwriter, music video director and graphic

designer. In March 2011 he released his debut single Iron...also a music video. It is fantastic and inspiring! AND, reminds me so much of National Gallery of London's Uccello, The Battle of San Romano. They both share a magic that's expectant and complete at the same time. They both depict battles, which can be interpreted literally and metaphorically. They both move in the same direction. Whilst Iron is without a landscape context, I feel The Battle of San Romano's echoes into it across time.

 

Take a look at the Youtube video of Iron below and see what you think. I am inspired!

 

 

Woodkid Iron

You can find more about Woodkid HERE

 

 

FAMILY FARM

Regular readers will know that the flat treeless Pirrinuan Plain of my childhood home has been a very strong influence and inspiration for me. The distance...living in it at the same time as observing it...being embraced by horizon...seeing and feeling perspective...witnessing seasonal patterns in the flourish of new crops and their demise at harvest...noting the geometry carved into the landscape by humans at the same time as noticing natural patterns, shapes, movements...rejoicing in the sky, a constantly changing sight from day to night, from relentlessly blue to threatening grey and more...the milky way at night reaching towards us with light and sparkle bringing us closer.

 

My brother Wilfred Brimblecombe has a photography BLOG where he posts photographs he has taken over many years, as well as now. He as a number of photographs of our family farm on the Pirrinuan Plain. Pirrinuan is a very small railway siding outside Dalby on the rich and fertile Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. The photograph below is from Wilfred's BLOG When you visit his BLOG look at the listing of TAGS on the right hand side. Click on Pirrinuan, Dalby and Glencoe to see more of my childhood landscape. Our parents sold the farm in the mid 1980s.

 

 

Wilfred Brimblecombe   Pirrinuan Paddocks in the 80s

 

The painting below is inspired by many things, including growing up at Pirrinuan. The Beginning of Everything  is both a vast and intimate painting. I write about my childhood landscape in the post I wrote for this painting. You can read it HERE.

 

The Beginning of Everything Oil on linen 90 x 180 cm

 

 

PROCESS

The process I use to create my paintings inspires me. How? The preparatory stages involve accidents which I allow to happen, without fear and with much anticipation. Once I have painted the canvas a colour I then splash turps across it. I will then place the stretched canvas flat on the ground or at a slight incline or lean it up against something. Whatever I do allows the paint to do its own thing... run, trickle, pool. I will 'orchestrate' this with a couple of layers of colour. I literally do not have any idea what the canvas will look like...and I like this because it seems to 'speak' to me.

 

I may have some ideas for the painting in my head, but the prepared canvas also informs the ultimate visual direction. It could be a difficult dance together, but it is not. I really do get excited when a prepared canvas awaits me and I look forward to the hours I will spend with it.

 

Last Thursday night I attended a terrific presentation 'Archetypes of Chaos' by anthropologist Dr. Jonathon Marshall at the Qld Jung Society . Dr Marshall spoke about the agency of chaos, from a number of perspectives eg: paradox, trickster, mythology and more. In the act of creation both order and chaos have potencies to play. In a sense by allowing the paint and turps do their own things I invite chaos into the painting process. I am not totally in control. I am seeking to have my mind scattered so that I might 'find' things I did not know were there! Yet, when people see the final production they comment on the detail and precision of my work. However, it is essentially a veil or another dimension...and that can lead to lots more inspiration! Look below the surface...literally and metaphorically.

 

Below are some photos of the early stages of my next painting. I wonder how it will end up?

 

 

 The initial paint

 

 The initial paint still wet

 After the turps has been splashed around, and the paint and turps do their unscripted 'dance' together.

 

 The second layer of colour on top of the first dry layer. The painting leaning up against the old wardrobe is Are We There Yet?

 

The second layer also disturbed by splashes of turps....drying now....and 'speaking' to me! Asking me to 'dance' too.

 

 

In my last post Super-Earths I also uploaded some photos of THE PROCESS. Oh, and a video as well.

 

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Next Exhibition



 

COSMIC ADDRESS

15- 27 October

Brisbane

 

Check out my recent COSMIC ADDRESS preview notification HERE

 

And to see a painting and post called COSMIC ADDRESS please click HERE

 

 

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Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

SUPER-EARTHS

Super-Earths Discovered Oil on linen 80 x 140 cm 2013

 

RECENT HEADLINES

 

Super-Earths discovered in stellar cluster ABC Science

Trio of 'super Earths' discovered in a star's habitable zone  Sydney Morning Herald June 26 2013
Found! 3 Super-Earth Planets That Could Support Alien Life Space.com

Star is crowded by super-Earths BBC Science And Environment

Super-Earth’ trio may support life Japan Times

Super-Earths detected in nearby star system WIRED

 

 

Last week it was reported that astronomers discovered a nearby star system with 3 possible 'Super-Earths' within the habitable zone around the star. Super-Earths are planets less massive than Neptune, but more massive than our own Earth. These newly discovered Super-Earths have the potential to sustain life. A 'habitable zone' refers to the temperature region around a star where liquid water could exist.  Planets outside our solar system are called exoplanets.

 

If you want to know more check out the articles linked above.

 

SUPER-EARTHS DISCOVERED

Oil on linen 80 x 140 cm

 

Now, to my new painting Super-Earths Discovered

 

Regular readers will see a continuation with other recent galactic-type paintings. They will also identify my 'play' with landscape and my attempts to untether ideas of 'landscape' from being Earth-bound. New perspectives, revealed by astronomical discoveries, open us to possibilities and potentials that push perspective beyond horizons previously thought to be at the extreme of distance.

They also afford us new ways of viewing ourselves...don't you think? As I have written before, perspective is both literal and metaphoric.

 

In my painting Super-Earths Discovered a mountainous landscape is shadowed by a massive 'planet'. The orientating mountainous landscape, whilst Earth-like, may not be Earth. It may be one of the newly discovered Super-Earths! Where is the viewer ie: you and me? We may be on the third planet, or in a space craft tripping our way between planets or we may be situated on a neighbouring mountain range gazing across the treacherous landscape. Fun hey!!!

 

So, alien life is a possibility on these newly discovered Super-Earths. We humans do seem to have a great urge to find 'space mates'. Yet, apart from the possibility of alien life, habitable Super-Earths also offer us alternative 'homes'. You know, when a cataclysmic occurrence, natural or human-made, makes Earth un-inhabitable or non-existent...except as debris [please check out my previous post HOPE]. Let's transport our imaginations into a far distant future...then ten to one hundred times the distance! In order to ensure humanity's survival, what if the 'powers that be' send something, that will ignite human DNA, in a space ship to the most habitable Super-Earth? Imagine that upon landing a mechanism causes the dormant DNA device to trigger life. Ah Ha! But, would we be human like we are now or would we appear more alien-like? There's a story there!

 

Regular readers will notice the tree...my much loved age-old transcultural/religious tree-of-life symbol. The tree signifies...life! In Super-Earths Discovered  the tree is like a beacon. Is it welcoming or warning?

 

A couple of other recent galactic paintings:

Playing With Landscape

Other Worlds, Ahoy!

 

 

THE CREATION OF

SUPER-EARTHS DISCOVERED

 

I have recently posted some photos of me working...and people seem to really like it. I have had numerous requests for more. To see the previous post please click HERE

 

So here goes...the following photos are of me painting Super-Earths Discovered

 

 The initial preparation of the stretched linen. Photo: Edwina Fox

 

 Splashing turps around. Photo: Edwina Fox

 

 

Waiting to run, dribble and dry. Photo: Edwina Fox

 

 

Early stages

 

 

I use rags as well as brushes!

 

And here's video:

 

 

My next solo exhibition

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All of this is n preparation for my next solo exhibition

 

COSMIC ADDRESS

15- 27 October

Brisbane

 

Check out my recent COSMIC ADDRESS preview notification HERE

 

And to see a painting and post called COSMIC ADDRESS please click HERE

 

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VERY INTERESTING

 

Take a look at this video:

 

Trevor Paglen:The Last Pictures

 

It is a project to send images of life on Earth into space. It's a kind of art installation. The images will be placed in some kind of capsule attached to a satellite which will be launched into orbit around Earth. Will they survive the mainstreet satellite highway up there? If the capsule survives for eons will it stand the heat of our sun in its hades-like dying days? Will aliens discover the images, and if so what will they think? Is the project adding to potential space debris and compromising space sustainability? Is this more about reflecting upon ourselves rather than sending messages afar? Perspective works in wonderful ways! 

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com