Mary Chamberlain
 

Fracturing Movement by Separating Line and Form

Movement, latent movement and motion matter to me in my work, as well as the interplay between foreground and background. I am curious to explore how the background can be used as a foreground and how that can resonate with and against the image to create senses of holding, space, imagination, and movement.

 

Isolating and exploring a motif (often a particular plant or aspect of the natural world) has formed the basis of my practice for the last 10 years.  The Physalis (Chinese Lantern) plant interests me for its structural beauty and ethereal fragility.  Up. Down! (Physalis) looks to take the eye of the beholder on a journey of the line, following it as it rises, arches and lands, all the while with the held lightness and weight of the individual physalis seed pods hanging from it.  Working using pen and ink, watercolour and brush, over the canvas laid on the ground, I purposely explored a lack of control within my mark making to enable a fluidity and freedom with the materials.