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If all the sky were
apple pie - May 2003
Page 2
In my present work, I have tried to recall some of the sensual
qualities of baroque painting, combined with my own enjoyment
of epicurean culture. Besides the sensory pleasure of arranging
and painting combinations of food items with personal objects,
the rearrangements reveal new meaning and themes which begin
to take on autobiographical dialogue. Calgary dancer and actor
Denise Clarke describes how she chooses objects to work with
in choreography. Through a process of meditation (she terms
"devining"), certain objects "speak" to
her and assume importance. This ritual is parallel to how my
still life arrangements occur. Once chosen, the painting time
acts as reflection, allowing for contemplation. The objects and food
misplaced from their original context may then become free agents
in my reverie, creating new associations.
The details of food and its magical powers in stories was a
source of interest to me as a young child. The underlying moral
of these stories and illustrations may originally have served
as warnings against the sins of gluttony and sloth, but they
trigger in me ambiguous childhood memories. The anxious consequences
of not cleaning my plate, ration book stamps, food shortages
and years of "character-building" badly cooked English
boarding school food contrast with the delights of groaning
tables at family celebrations, colorful vegetable markets and
all day beach picnics.
"Morte Nature" the French term for "still life",
more accurately describes the often homilied meaning behind
early painting which refers to time and the finite destiny of
Man. In choosing perishable food implying change, juxtaposed
with durable personal objects, my dialogue has become one which
echoes this traditional idea - that of the illusion of time
and the physicality and frailty of life.
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