Praesentia ; Encounters @ Parndon Mill Gallery Harlow

22nd May – 28th June 2015 

Gallery Open Tuesday – Friday 10am – 5pm Sundays 2pm – 4pm

http://www.parndonmill.co.uk/next_exhibition.html

A body of new work by three artists, explores the relationship between object, memory, material and process. Whilst each artist uses different media, there is a narrative and cohesive theme to their work which has been described as ‘Fresh, fragile and emotive perspectives juxtaposing thought provoking use of multi media’.

Caryl Beach uses mixed media, photography, and print making to respond to her experiences in the landscape. Her photography records and reflects her everyday journeys, noting the detail, often overlooked, in the hustle of our daily routine. These experiences present new encounters to note and capture. Her work represents an appreciation and acceptance of the transient nature of our world, with a beauty that lies in imperfection, impermanence and an appreciation of the simple integrity of objects and processes.

‘Caryl’s work focuses on observing and recording the smallest insignificant details that emanate from shadows and refraction of the sunlight. Images of neglected and once abandoned buildings, traces of the layers of history that echo a universal theme of transience, absence and presence. Her investigations have led her into a micro world that requires close inspection and a magnification process in order to record the finest minutiae.’[1] Luton Ho Walled Garden Residency- Open Studios Catalogue.2010.

Veronica Grassi fabricates three-dimensional abstract drawings. She works with a wide range of materials from iron wire and steel rod to the finest silk threads and invisible thread. She re-uses packaging materials with paper and stitch, selecting simple, ordinary ephemera to capture an ethereal, poetic quality, recalling memories and narratives for the viewer. Intuitively responding to materials, she evokes a sense of consciousness of the fragility of existence with the viewer unsure if the work is made by addition or subtraction. The new body of work for ‘Encounters’ includes sculpture and framed work that investigates the contrasts of materials – exploring the opposing natures, tension and contradiction, with the final outcome being a synthesis of components to form a connected whole. The work is constructed of opposites. “It can be argued that Silk has connotations of luxury and femininity whilst Iron, utilitarian and masculine. I’m making work that strives to capture harmony of conflicting composites”.

Sally Tyrie uses printmaking, collage and machine stitch to create drawings, which explore aspects of time, transition, absence and presence. Her work for ‘Encounters’ uses as its starting point a series of images collected from derelict and abandoned spaces. “Often eerie, sometimes peaceful I was interested in the traces that speak of a past history” Using monoprint and stitch on envelopes these works explore the narrative of marks; printed, stitched, marks revealed, concealed. The resulting prints offer alternative narratives and reveal “wider concerns with the fragile relationship we have with our local and global environment.”

Here is my work in the studio before the exhibition went up:

Caryl Beach: