Silk

In Silk, traces of human presence; architecture or artifacts, once glorious, now destroyed, decayed or abandoned, leave an aching vacuum, a sense of physical isolation and psychological solitude. Therein lies contemplation of the eternal; the longevity of the earth and the heavens, paralleled with the brevity of human presence. The backbone of the painting is established by four of the central columns Ranakapur Temple in Western India, lit by a whitish-blue artificial light.

The other main element in the painting is the chaotic rush of abstract shapes and strings of dots partially obscuring the columns at the top of the painting. The mass of shape and colour suggests a heavily embroidered curtain or veil, but teeters on the edge of abstraction, alluding to the material and construction process of painting. This flux between abstraction and representation affirms the artist’s position as the illusionist.

There is tension between the temple interior and the disintegration into these primitive marks, whether the glorious structure will slide into the raw material from which it was fashioned, or rise as a monument to humanity.