‘But all the promises we make …’ (2014) - MA Final Show
Medium: Steel Grey, Liquorice Black, Marshmallow Pink (Household Vinyl Matt Emulsion), Clear Quick Drying Gloss Varnish, Calvin Klein Eternity Aftershave (100ml); applied directly on to gallery wall. (Size: 6m x 3m)
“I encounter millions of bodies in my life; of these millions, I may desire some hundreds; but of these hundreds, I love only one.” – Roland Barthes, A Lover’s Discourse: Fragments
“As a starting point the artwork on display emerged from conversations, first and foremost with myself and then in discussion with others. This led to early research to develop a deeper enquiry and through writing and planning I begin to articulate my ideas further which manifest as a physical, unseen performance. However, the remainder and residue present one possible outcome.
But all the promises we make... is a semi-confessional layered text-based work occupying the background wall at ARTicle Gallery in The School Of Art, Birmingham. The work is informed by my personal relationship with my lover since starting my MA in Fine Art studies in 2012.
The final outcome behaves both as a remainder and residue of a physically repeated painting performance over a period of 4 weeks. The work is reductive and subtractive, both in the action performed and the final visual aesthetic.
Essentially, the work operates as a series of painted text promises that I have made, not made, broken, adapted or kept and inviting a questioning of the validity of such definitive speeches or statements we make to one another. Surely, a promise takes on a life of its own until it becomes unspoken and absorbed into the very fabric of who we are; metaphorically represented here as a false MDF gallery wall, which has a finite lifeline of its own, informed by exhibition histories of the past, present and potential futures.
As a final action or gesture, the remainder and residue will be painted over with the standard brilliant white vinyl matt emulsion, returning the false wall back to its original default position, giving the artwork an enduring quality by physical disappearance. The artwork itself has no economic value but conversely is valuable in the experience shared and the conversations generated, more specifically between my lover and myself.
The artwork is truly activated when I stand with my lover and he unlocks the meaning with a final gesture of a public kiss to say “yes”.
