Yesterday I attended the English National Ballet performance of Akram Khans rendition of Giselle.
It was their final day, and I saw the matinee at 2 pm. I know the original ballet and have seen it at The Royal Opera House. I was mesmerised by the set and the striking choreography. I especially connected with the reworked storyline. It was set in a factory. The themes about workplace atrocities were strong. The Willis, who are ghost-like characters, were portrayed as the ghosts of workers harmed by their workplaces. This was instead of the original, where they were the spirits of women wronged by their betrothed.
The reworked story resonated with me. It empowered me to continue creating art about how people struggle with workplace relationships and power dynamics. It is indeed OK to show that struggles occur amid toxic work environments. They occur because of the wrangling within their organisation. The reworking of the Giselle story encouraged me. It showed that creating artworks based on something quite commercial and industrial is not that new and is very possible. Art can highlight the ugly side of human behaviours well while still being portrayed beautifully through art.
If you would like to see the art I created for a home office bookshelf in this vein, you can find it in my shop. The art reflects this style. These nod to the cultural complexities in workplaces. Please click this button to find them in my shop.
The featured image above was generated by AI after it analysed all the images on this post. Interesting 🧐 not sure I like it this week.
Now that all the lamps have their feet attatched the look is completed. I like that the feet echo the organic black shapes in the poured skin that surflaces the barrel of the lamp.
In creating a series of painted and poured skins and assembling each onto lampshade making backing I first thouhgt I was a bit crazy, but I didnt mind because people had volunteered that they loved what I had created. I later discovered that I am not solitary in making sculpural forms out of paint integrating a clear foundation for a more etherial spirited look. I had learned about sculptural skins before as we were taught that in my mixed media class at Central Saint Martins. But I hadnt come across an artist who had had integrated the clarity of acrylic sheeting in their work.
Poured paint sculpture lamps: The first trio with all their feet fitted, allowing paintings to be formed into semi transparent tablelamps15 cm acrylic abstract poured on PVC formed to tablelamp signed on the back..20cm poured acrylic and ink laminated on PVC framed with black cotton formed to tablelamp
Yet, this week I found new company for this sculpural element of my artwork in the work of Lillian Thomas Burrell. This American artist born in 1927 and five years younger than my mother, wrote a book called From Painting to Painting as Sculpture: The Journey of Lilian Thomas Burwell, by Lilian Thomas Burwell, Hampton University Museum.1997. I have orded a signed copy of it.
I learned about her this week, when Kitty Gurnos-Davis of @artistic.identities posted a reel on IG (16th August 2024) talking about the work of Lilian Thomas Burwell (saying she was ashamed to not yet had discovered her). From watching this reel, I entered into a new world. My internet research took me on a journey. I discovered the images of her sculptures made of painting canvas over a wooden form. There are also images and videos of her use of acrylic sheets with wood in her paintings on canvas.
The Lillian Thomas Burrell exhibition at Berry Cambell Gallery from You Tube
My prior career as a management academic allows me to understand the importance of asserting and connecting with the seminal works in my field. I know that using paint skins is something that is a constant in all my work. Seeing and using paint’s sculptural potential is what only a few artists do. It was encouraging to digitally meet the work of Lilian Thomas Burwell this week. I’ve downloaded the book to discover more about this genre and even asked for a signed copy so I can have it to hand for future reference and inspiration..
I shall be making more of these poured paint sculpure lamps in other colours. Purple and gold was requested on instagram and I might do a deep red and organic green and even a yellow and blue later.
Last week I visited Tennessee USA, to carryout business for my employer. On my rest and travel day I was taken on a tour of Nashville and naturally sought out the art and culture areas. I’m not such a fan of music venues, being from London we get a lot of those around here. Instead I was more intrigued by Belmont and Vanderbilt campus area and the lovely community around there. I went to the Parthenon where they had an artist on show that I have begun to admire because I feel a sense of affinity.
I was thinking 🧐 of contrasts and reducing my colour palette recently. Below are a couple of images where I played with new forms and hues. This week I was struck by the work of Mexican artist Sandra del Pilar and British artist Sahara Longe. Both seem to assert figures of humanity in subtle ways. I like how their figures seem to give way to the paint and colour form.
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