Caribbean Entertainment Magazine - Volume 6 Nov - Dec 2013 | Page 66

In the conceptualization and execution of this work I thought about the use of media and
technique as well as how it can symbolically and meaningfully relate to the idea. Consequently, the gesticulations and manner in which paint application methods were manipulated
lends itself to the nature of my narrative. The paintings are large, on a scale considerably
greater than life size. When one stands in front of them it is possible to feel surrounded and
enveloped by the colour and monumental scale.
These large scaled-figures are by themselves on each canvas with their heads turned gracefully sideways, or blocked from the observer. This bodily posture is emblematic of the aforementioned social-ill women are subjected to. As well as representative of how these women
are ostracized, alienated and isolated by society. Splashing, bleeding and dripping of paints
onto the canvas are a symbolic approach to illustrate and simulate cleansing, i.e. the behaviour of water while bathing. These techniques were predominately utilized on the background
or negative space which carries the same weight as the positive space. The slender dripping
effect of paint on the background surmounted by the portrait orientation of the canvases echoes the vertical starts of the figures. The results are immense bright, joyful and abstract patterns that created a context for the figures. There is indeed a strong awareness of the contrast
of tone and always a conspicuous depiction of light, whether subdued or intense. There is the
brilliance of colours and tones, shimmering in the vivid finger strokes of the impressionist
technique. These graphic statements are capable of speaking very clearly to us about our current concerns and are a joy to the observer.
Colour was used for emotional expression and the direst effect it has on the spectator. Generally speaking, colour directly influences the soul. Colour is the keyboard, the eyes are the
hammers, and the soul is the piano with many keys. The artist is the hand that plays touching
one key or another purposively to cause vibrations in the soul. The colours used on each panel have been orchestrated in harmony as if they were instruments performing in a concert.
The paint application method of finger painting was executed to paint the actual figures. This
was the chosen technique as it attempts to create a link and dialogue between the finger
marks and the physical effects of domestic violence. Predominantly an analogous colour
scheme was utilized for the mathematical colour harmony of the compositions, for the monumental stillness of the figures and for the limpid clarity of the light that bathes them. Notwithstanding, in some aspects of the composition, there is a delicacy and unity of colour in
the handling of paint, and a sense of great simplicity, warmth and directness. The remarkable
use of colour adds greatly to the suggestive and symbolic air surrounding the works and assists immensely in the beauty, economy and emotional fluency resonated in each piece. In the
background of the painting, colour has a more translucent quality and in the foreground it is
more opaque.
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