Where I get waylaid by a painter at a sculpture show…
At this years Sculpture at Hill View there is a lot to see : set in the gardens at the the former vice regal summer retreat of NSW Governors (from the 1880s to the 1950s), this substantial party house on a hill is a splendid venue for hosting art events.
I was there for the sculpture – and so much good work to see- spilling out of the pines, around terraces and finishing with the vista-backdrop of Sutton Forest .
This is a very generous exhibition space and the ever changing garden makes perfect for revealing the artworks as you stroll about.
Inside the main house the exhibition continues and this year Justin Pearson’s work dominated the walls. So much so I was stopped in my tracks. How long has this been going on ? Look at these enigmatic pictures !
I dont really know Justin that well but here are a series of works, so intriguing, I found my mind tumbling with associations of Blake and Dante’s Inferno and Opera and John Percival ceramics and Daumier drawings , the Swiss symbolist Arnold Böcklin and even the video game Samorost –
I had that special experience where I felt I was entering the artist’s mind via their art.
I think this phenomena is only possible when the artist is able to put down with impunity a snapshot from their inner life : full of loves and wonders and fears and awe and all the things collected from culture along the way, like a tumblr page full of postcards, all masterfully managed into a unique language which in Justin’s case is delivered with a paintbrush. It takes a lot of work to reach this level of acuity. Justin Pearson is able to share with us his own cosmology.
“Pay Us”, oil on linen, 210 x 710 cm
“Pay Us” is playful and portentous. The artist leaves it up to us to complete the narrative. However I get the feeling the couple on the rainbow-arch are going to prevail – there are horse maidens flying in from the left to the rescue. And Justin’s use of various blues keeps our eye moving clockwise around the canvas – captured in the drama.
“The Guarantee”, oil on linen, 140 x 100 cm
With “The Guarantee” we are inside a Wagner performance. Its a snapshot from an opera specially broadcast from Justin’s mind palace. Observe the use of pink and how it harmonises with the indigo and greens as well as the use of the cerulean blue and scarlet as chromatic anchor points. The sun has just popped out and hit the water throwing everything into silhouette – this is a major stage production. I can hear the music.
“ Looking for the Way Out ”, oil on linen, 200 x 100 cm
This painting reads like a pre-renaissance allegory. Its one woman’s plight or every women’s plight. Its cinematic and evocative. And its on a loop, spinning because there’s no resolution. Its a zoetrope. Its a painting . Its a zoetrope. Its a painting…
I suspect Justin Pearson of wizardry !
Steve Fearnley
Stephen Fearnley is an award-winning filmmaker, artist and composer. He composes transformational soundscapes for the meditation journeys guided by Naomi Carling and facilitated by Naomi Janzen for One Mind Live – a unique worldwide online group meditation community. To sample One Mind Live, go HERE
Lovely work.
Oh my goodness Ferno, this is wonderful!! I love the thoughts you share, similar to many of mine that you have echoed and expanded upon.
‘Through the forest running’ evoked the spirit and wildness of the plant medicine Ayauascha (and how it evokes purity through chaos) – and the innate desire that many of us have to get back to freedom – in nature – back to the start, beyond all the pervasive materialism of the industrialised world.
I was struck into my heart, the poignancy of ‘Pay us’ (I thought it was called ‘the debt collectors’?) and feel so deeply, a love for the rainbow leading to this couple’s sanctuary.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and Justin’s work here. It is so beautiful, to see inside his ‘mind palace’ and dreaming heart. <3