Spring Salon 2017, Candid Arts Trust

 Untitled (abstract drawing/ study for painting 9b) 59.3cm x 74cm

Exhibition runs from Friday 31st March until Thursday 6th April 2017. Private view held on Thursday 30th March.

Portrait Exhibition 2017, Candid Arts Trust

Untitled (FJ, 26-1-2017) in situ, Portrait Exhibition 2017

The private view was well curated and had a high attendance.

Untitled (FJ, 26-1-2017)

The sitting for the portrait lasted two hours.

Abstract Drawings

In between teaching art practice and theory, submitting works for exhibition and consultancy projects for the Museum Sector, I have revisited abstract drawing. Previously, the main medium was graphite on cold pressed paper. However, the current drawings are completed on Bristol board.

Untitled (abstract drawing/ study for painting 5)- February 2017, brush and ink

The drawings serve as propositions and proposals for larger paintings.

Untitled (abstract drawing/ study for painting 2)- January 2017, brush and ink

The method involves similar considerations to composition, brushstrokes and tonal balance as that of painting.

D van Eden

Brush and Ink Study

Untitled (abstract drawing/ study for painting 1)- January 2017, brush and ink

Life Class Archives- figure drawing 2013/14

Adrian 14-10-2013, 16" x 23.4"

Philip (detail) 16-3-2014, 18" x 8"

Philip H 15-1-2014, 15" x 10"

Rosella 15-4-2014, 13" x 14"

Maria 19-4-2014, 16.5" x 23.4"

Barrie 13-4-2014, 16.5" x 23.4"

Lucy (detail) 19-5-2014, 16.5" x 23.4"

Thelma 10-8-2014, 11" x 7"

Life Class Archives- portraits 2013/14

Alexis (detail) 7-10-2013, 16" x 5"

Eddi 10-10-2013, 6" x 5"

Thelma 13-7-2014, 7" x 10"

Matthew (detail) 9-6-2014, 9" x 8"

Rosella 15-4-2014, 13" x 14"

Philip 31-8-2014, 9" x 7"

Joanne 4-5-2014, 16" x 11"

Life Class Archives- still life drawings 2013-15

Pineapple, two lemons and a pear (detail) 22-8-2013, 16.5" x 23.4"

Valentin (detail) 7-3-2013, 16.5" x 23.4"

Cast: J Mallon 25-1-2015, 8" x 7"

To Question the Unquestioning- exhibition catalogue and rationale

‘The veracity of the portrait is questionable, whether it is presented photographically or via the medium of drawing. It is undeniable that the portrait has retained much of its social relevance throughout the ages from Antiquity to the present day. At the crux of the portrait may lie aspects of narcissism; literally an attempt to ‘possess’ ones own likeness, reaching towards a reflection that becomes detached, fragmented and discontinuous as soon as it is grasped. The myth of Narcissus serves as an apposite analogy for the portraits presented in this book. The ‘perfect likeness’ seen by Narcissus proved to be an illusion. Therein lies the lack of fulfilled promise ultimately leading to profound pessimism.’

Extract from the preface of the exhibition catalogue, ‘To Question the Unquestioning’

The drawings are derived from documentary film footage captured from digital broadcasts. I ‘froze’ and advanced at least two frames to create a slightly disjointed effect that reflected my own subjective viewpoint. By looking over hours of video footage, I became increasingly aware of the shift in my response to the documentary ‘evidence’ presented through film and image. The live drumhead court-martial and subsequent execution of Elena and Nicholae Ceaușescu indirectly led me to view the show trial and murder of Liberian president, Samuel Doe. Both broadcasts (they were circulated to international news agencies) show atrocities perpetrated against individuals responsible for the loss of lives of many. Both broadcasts, in some way, demonstrate the reversal of the roles of influential principals. Knowing the pain and suffering inflicted directly or indirectly by such individuals didn’t make viewing their own personal suffering any easier.

Hitler

Trujillo

Banda

Each selected image is a representation of a person who has used mass media and technologies of mass production to progress an idealised idea of the said entity. A complex process of inspiring and gaining unquestioning devotion, loyalty and praise (the ‘unquestioning’ of the exhibition and catalogue title) leads to the establishment of a cult of personality. I present the subjects in various states of psychological, physical or symbolic vulnerability. It was sometimes difficult to obtain footage clearly illustrating such states (for example, the above images show Adolf Hitler emerging from the Führerbunker for the final time, Rafael Trujillo broadcast in a damning documentary, Hastings Banda protesting during a televised interview). In the case of others, such as the mob lynching of Muammar Gaddafi, the state of vulnerability is more palpable.

D van Eden

To Question the Unquestioning- a retrospective look at the relationship between the portrait and the 'cult of personality'

UAL graduation exhibition in situ (June 2014).

Aide-mémoire- remembering Poppy Sebire Gallery 'New Chapter', 20th November 2010

The following text is taken from a review posted during November 2010 on a previous site. It was part of a collection of reviews that assisted me in contextualising my art practice within the parameters of (visual) anthropology. Presented in its originally form, I have edited the text to reflect the correct tense; the content remains ostensibly unaltered.

Upon visiting Jerwood Encounters This Must be The Place, a member of staff suggested that I also visit new work exhibited at Poppy Sebire Gallery located on Copperfield Street SE1. Ms Sebire (and her terrier, Louis) welcomed me into the gallery that both intimate and airy, allowing adequate space to reflect upon the work. The exhibition, entitled New Chapter, was sensitively curated with themes of natural history, masks and abstract hand coloured etchings positioned harmoniously next to one another.

Boo Ritson is a sculptor/painter/photographer who works within multi-media, producing work that links the three disciplines. Previous work by Ritson exists as a media hybrid of painting, photography and elements of performance art. Models are clothed according to specific occupations and/or stereo (type). The artist paints directly onto models in a manner that is reminiscent of portraits by Glenn Brown and then she photographs them as living sculptural forms. By concealing the eyes with reflective sunshades, the effect is heightened. The obscuring effect of the eyewear creates a jarring sensation in the viewer (a sensation attenuated in the images where the model doesn’t wear the shades. It is as though the illusion is contingent upon the anonymous persona of the living mannequin). After four years of developing her practice, Ritson’s work appears to have evolved further towards statuary constituents in her imagery. The most prominent work displayed was a painted costume placed beside a large format photograph of a model wearing the same. One is conscious of an allusion towards fetish outfits (the livery, at first glance, appeared to be a rubber nurses uniform), but also an idea of theatrical costume. Somewhat unnerved, I felt that there was a blurring between the consolidated images.

D van Eden