46 pieces
As my days here unfolded I found that I was closer to nz than I have been for a very long time. Perhaps since leaving all those years ago. But at the same time I have returned to a land that has been through so much pain and suffering in the last few years and its hard to understand that. There is, though, that incredible kiwi spirit that shines through. It has helped to repair, rebuild, restore faith when it feels for me as if it is impossible to do so. Then there is a darker side of the kiwi mentality and it is a side that I find so disturbing. There is a lack of care for life that seems to be the cause so much devastation and sadness and yet it continues. Accidents that can so easily be avoided, carelessness with nature and the misuse of power- stemming from what I wonder?
I wrote on a big piece of paper all the things that I had heard, read about, noticed.
I thought about a stained glass window at the V & A in London, which I was so drawn to. It was from the 1500´s, Netherlands and depicts a woman beside a well ( the well drew me to it initially of course- no pun intended truly!). She sits there peacefully unaware of two men sneaking up on her from behind. They are about to accost her for alleged adultery. In the background two women turn a blind eye. It is painted in black and yellow only, it is quite beautiful and very creepy! It is such a vivid image of the injustices done to women through the centuries. I have thought a lot about this window and had decided that I would work in black and yellow one day, just because it was so striking. Then, strangely, one day some men from the electricity company put up some protective coatings around madeleines cables before she put up her scaffolding and it was in black and yellow. The colours of danger.
So my whole exhibition is in white black and yellow. I decided to fill some the houses I had made with different fragments, traces of human existence perhaps, thin parchments, billowing walls, wells, ladders or simply a bit of black and yellow warning tape. On others I drew a talisman to protect…
I loved this part of the process. My ideas flowed and I could have made twice as many pieces for all the thoughts I had racing around my head. And I have found my love of clay again! I could actually enjoy that porcelain is hard to work with and resists my less well thought out ideas as if it knows! It cracks when put under too much pressure. And yet when I work with it, methodically, slowly, I am rewarded. I love its strength and softness. It is full of contrasts just like me!
So now I wait. For the verdict. Have I been a complete idiot making an exhibition in such a short concentrated time frame and then putting all my work in one firing? We shall see on Thursday! Idiot or not it has been one of the best working periods I have ever had and I will forever be grateful to Freddy, friends, family, for helping me make this happen
