I am really excited about some recent developments in terms of my painting practice. I have worked on my recent canvas with a great range of colour layers and washes. The glazing of the underpainting, which is in turn blasted off with a jet of water, creates a sensation of unusual depth to the work.
i am hoping to achieve a greater complexity of the surface quality. I am also experimenting with a juxtaposition of hyper realistic portrayal and random and accidental marks created by the jet of water. However, this process is more than just a mere accident. I am also slowly learning how to control the nozzle of the pressure washer in order to achieve an effect, which i particularly desire.
In technical terms, I have also extended on my typical use of brushes and started to include working with sponges and cloth.
I have spend most of the day experimenting with the established process of continuously over-printing and blasting the newly applied colour layer away with a strong jet of water.
While documenting the work progress, I have started to alternate the use of video material and photography of relevant stages and refinements.
The screen developed for this image is based on pomegranate. This fruit is a national symbol of Azerbaijan. It is also associated with wealth and prosperity. Most Azeris regard pomegranate as a culturally and historically established object of desire.
i particularly like the ambiguity of the composition of pomegranate seeds. The screen is mysterious and non-descriptive. This lack of exactness and visual identity make it more uncertain and, perhaps even nervous,
My creative intentions were to make images, which are more ambiguous and undefined by avoiding using realistic colours. I have experienced a lot of trouble trying to photograph these paintings. I had to bounce the light of a screen to avoids unnecessary reflections and other visual disturbances. The idea was also to reject the use of Photoshop as a tool for enhancing images. I wanted to get photographs, which are untouched and unchanged – a la prima.
What is really important to me is the use of accidents, which are wholly unpredictable. It is also about visualising anxiety and uncertainty of “things going wrong” and simply destroying my own work before giving it a chance to appear and develop. I am fascinated by the layers of paint and ink, and the accidental tears breaking up on the surface. Punhane has started to develop references to images of Madonna, or perhaps, coffin portraiture and paintings executed in encaustic..
The next stage will be to leave this piece to dry and than, prime its surface with diluted PVA in order to be able to restart the entire process again.
I have finally started on a long planned experimentation with an image of an English girl. Hopefully, this will allow me to differentiate between my foreign inspirations in juxtaposition to a local character.
My creative intention is to continue with the painterly process before overprinting this canvas with a screen with a composition made using silhouettes of PornStar cocktails.
As previously, the interwoven blasting procedure should loosen the image and introduce meaningful drippings of great significance to the uncertain character of my work. The blasting and its uncertainty contradicts the premeditated and preplanned content of the work.
I have manipulated the video to alter its format. Most of the experimentation was undertaken with Adobe Premiere Pro CC2018 to achieve two main objectives:
make the video shorter (under 60 seconds) in order to be able to share it on Instagram.
the second, more important goal was to remove some of the unnecessary content, which has diluted and clouded the key message in the voice recording.
Additionally, I utilised a range of transitions and other editing effects in order to make the overall piece more holistic and cohesive. The other quality improvement was to alter the tonation of the video footage. My creative intention was to make it much warmer and introduce a sensation of ageing. This echoes the greatest fear of Punhane – she is terrified of getting old.
My final proposal has just been shared online and I am nervously awaiting commentary.
The painting itself will be revisited and developed further next week. I am in the process of thinking the progress through, while trying to refine the idea and enhance painterly qualities of the piece. I have just developed a new screen with an image of a cross section of a pomegranate. I took this image at a market in Baku. This is the official national symbol of Azerbaijan. It was also Punhane’s favourite fruit. I will be using the highly decorative and organised pattern of seeds while overprinting the piece with a range of layers, starting with vibrant crimsons and moving through the colour spectrum towards deep blues, while printing with Prussian Blue based colours.
I am moderating in Northern Ireland next week, but the plan is to take my work to the second stage of blasting it with a water jet.
My creative intention is to use the voice recording below to contextualise the piece, which I am currently trying to develop and refine. There is a degree of hesitance, which is apparent throughout the talk. The essence of what Punhane is trying to truly communicate is contained in the last sentence, as follows:
“I am a bit worried about being alone and getting old…”
I have started with the painterly process, while preparing an under painting for a new piece. The inspiration has come from my experiences in Azerbaijan, especially in the capital Called Baku.
The image below is of a young Azeri girl, who was my guide around the “Land of Fire”. We have spent a fair amount of time together, while exploring the local culture and became friends.
On the last day of my visit, I managed to interview Punhane. She gradually opened up and revealed her secrets to me. She was very nervous and hesitant. I recorded her short monologue, which appraises her uncertainties and anxieties.
I questioned the concept of happiness. This somehow upset her. She abruptly responded – “I have already told you – at the end”.
Ultimately, the recording will accompany and support the digitised version of a more refined version of this work.
This extensive gallery is absolutely inspirational! Both, the architecture and curation of the work provide an exciting inside into a range of developments in the contemporary art of the Balkan region. It draws from numerous influences of the Persian Empire, long standing cultural and religious traditions and, finally, Russian occupation. The impact of war in Nagorno Karabakh and a conflict with Armenia is also clear.
Due to the international profile of exhibits, I have also started to recognise some of the artists, whose work was on display in Tbilisi.
The work is very expressive with a strong narrative element. My head is buzzing with new ideas.
All finalists painted live in front of an audience.
There was a lot of interest in my work and I have received plenty of encouraging comments.
This is a portrait of a young, beautiful and idyllic-looking Haitian girl
playing with butterflies. I met her during my travels through Haiti,
where most people survive on less than 1$ per day.
She is totally oblivious of her origin.
She does not understand, why she is consistently ostracised and
bullied. Her skin is white, and her eyes are baby blue. She definitively
stands out!
She has never heard of Poland. Her home is on a little island called
Petit Goave.
She is a descendent of Polish legionnaires, who were sent to Haiti by
Napoleon to suppress an uprising of slaves. However, having realised
the extent of exploration and abuse, the Poles changed sides and
fought in support of the oppressed indigenous people. Subsequently,
most of them were punished and slaughtered. A few lucky ones
managed to disperse to the islands.
Waiting is a complex and multi-dimensional concept. Perhaps, we could attempt our identity by using a metaphor to the dreams, aspirations and desires we are all hoping for. In Haiti, it could be a few grains of rice to survive, while in the West…a cocktail called Porn Star.
This piece is on outcome of a collaboration between a painting and a video.
It question the idea of identity in the broader context of external dynamics and stimuli.
Our dreams, ambitions and aspirations are formed by brutal and vulgar contrasts between the opulence and status of the privileged and the suffering of the starving underclasses. This powerful contrast is charged with a broad range of associated high level emotions and feeling, such as jealousy, anger and a total lack of understanding of the reasons behind one’s faith.
HYPNOTIC REPETITION 