“Body, Vessel, Archetype” by Roz Cryer

 

 

 "The Eating Bowl 2", 2012, oil and embroidery on canvas, 53x95cm

Artist Statement

 

‘The power of clay is with us from the creation myth beginnings from the well known Bible story of Adam made from clay to Mud Diver and Coyote of the North American Indians.’

(Quote by Kathleen I Kimball).

 

There is something deeply entrenched in the human psyche about the use of and the symbolism of clay. Throughout history, in many cultures, ‘humans have seen clay pots as people and clay objects housing the soul;’ Pots as houses of the spirit. And there are still rituals and taboos concerning the making and using of pots, for example ‘when a Gurensi woman dies her eating bowl is broken at the funeral as the pot’ is symbolic here of the body as vessel, the body which is no longer working.

 

Joseph Campbell talked about developing ‘an identification with our consciousness and no longer’ regarding ‘our physical body as who we are. That the body is the vehicle through which our consciousness/spirit interact, experience and participate within our physical environment.’

 

These concepts are pivotal to this body of work.

 

For my vessels I have used porcelain, as for me it requires more time and patient attention than other clays. It is reminder for me to slow down and to enjoy and appreciate the journey/process. When fired it is at once strong and yet fragile. Unglazed it reminds me of bone. The mendhi patterns that I have used to decorate the porcelain hint at celebration and blessings.

 

For my oil paintings I have used un-mounted highly decorative and embroidered canvases with the aim of integrating both aesthetically and metaphorically what I paint and the surfaces on which I paint. As with previous work, the fabrics on which I paint allude to the observation that often times both paintings and concepts are rarely painted on blank canvases but are laid down on cultural fabrics that alter or impact our perceptions.

 

 

AND

 

IN THE MIDDLE GALLERY

“A Life In Common”

 

The exhibition titled “A Life In Common” portrays exactly that. It stands as a collection of artistic insights and experiences of various African cities, their emerging cultures and engrained states of flux.

 

Participating artists are as varied as the works that they have produced. Finding commonality in the artistic trend of utilizing signs, consciously or not in a didactic relation to these city environments.

 

The signs imbued in the works stand as points that have meanings other than themselves, allowing for the communication of information that resides both in plain sight and in avenues that are all too often overlooked. The works are a culmination of the artist’s predisposition to explore their experiences through the possibilities that creativity affords.

 

This body of work frames these cities as consolidations of incalculable human development and interaction. With an eclectic array of mediums and subject matter, providing both societal and individual insights into the depths of city living and the complexity of this evolution.