FRANCESCA LOWE

                    'Headland: Woman in a Landscape'

                  Monday 23 May - Saturday 2 July 2011

                  Private View - Monday 23 May,  6.30 pm

                      RSVP alice@theresasimon.com

   Headland: Woman in a Landscape: consists of four large-scale head
      canvases, three symbol-laden tree paintings, and a group of
    'tree-cuts'. The work invites the viewer to indulge in a game of
   symbolic decoding in order to reveal a woman's journey through the
                      complex landscape of today.

   The viewer is confronted by dramatic head paintings executed with
 fresco-like washes in the artist's distinctive colourways. This is an
 arena of observation, where actions, choices and consequences are made
visible. Each woman's psychological thought process is openly displayed
 - an x-ray of internal activity. Aircraft, ammunition, cars and ships
 are some of the associative imagery entwined within the mindscapes, a
 reference to the masculine power symbols that have been absorbed into
 female identity. Turbines, propellers and liberty stars allude to the
 driving cycle of life. Birds of prey, wolverine dogs, space capsules,
   fairground carousels, oceanic landscapes and cloudlike islands are
 presented as symbols of action or indecision, progress or inertia. The
  bold compositional dynamics work in contrast to the slow burn of the
     content, keeping the eye and mind in a constant state of flux.

                           UPSTAIRS GALLERY:

 Lowe's Tree canvases - 'Grace,' 'Abundance' and 'Inertia' - return to
      the artist's interest in the Tree of Life. 'Grace' spans the
   metaphorical paths that guide a woman's life journey. Each branch,
 named after a painting in the series, presents symbolic choices, their
    connotations and consequences. The result is a map of images and
      symbols which flow from place to place. 'Abundance' with its
     cortex-like appearance, forms branches that hold positive and
  progressive thoughts, leading to a sense of well-being and security.
     'Inertia' mirrors the shape of the ominous Spade playing card,
      referencing the dysfunctional drives that can lead to mental
                              stagnation.

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                     Mon-Fri 10 - 6pm Sat 12 - 6pm

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