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Malcolm
Martin, Gaynor Dowling
and
Tamsin Saccani
11 May - 9 July 2005
This exhibition juxtaposes
sculptures, vessels and wall relief's in wood by Malcolm
Martin and Gaynor Dowling with paper wall hangings by Tamsin
Saccani.The theme, Temenos refers to the enclosure within
which the classical Greek temple was laid out with each
object - temple, sculptures, altars and vessels in
significant relation to each other.Within the Temenos the
different objects had a significance beyond themselves, and
so each column was itself a metaphor not only for the temple
as a whole and for the city that maintained it, but also for
the body of the citizen, the individual parts of that body,
and the natural world. The formal laying out of the Temenos
containing the temple, sculptures, altars, vessels and other
objects showed the relationship of individual citizens to
each other, to the world, and to the Gods. The carved wooden
objects are precious and meaningful enough to command
attention. The aim is not to revive the past, but to make
new 'valid signs' that have continuity with it. Signs that
help explore our relationship to each other, to the world,
and to whatever God or Gods we still have.
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The work by Martin and
Dowling is carved in wood, a practice that dates
back at least twenty thousand years. Today, in this
age of computer control and video imaging, to carve
wood by hand is literally anachronistic: it shifts
us in time, linking 'here' and 'now', to 'then' and
'there'. Carving becomes a dialogue with the living
past.
Martin Dowling |
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It is worth remembering
that it was carved objects that so inspired the
modernists at the dawn of the last century: that
Picasso, Matisse, and Brancusi found their way
towards the art that would define modernity through
studying the artefacts of traditional carvers in the
museums and curio shops of Paris. The poet and
painter David Jones wrote of trying to make 'valid
signs' from the art of the past, signs that make the
past present to us, that link us to a tradition and
reinvent it for the present day. |
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Tamsin
Saccani
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Tamsin Saccani creates
contemporary wall pieces from another traditional
material - handmade paper. She is currently
fascinated by repetition, inspired by the things we
see everyday - road markings, signs, buildings and
landscapes. Materials are handmade or manipulated
with the idea of making textures and surfaces appear
different to what they actually are. Having decided
on material, form and colour, |
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Tamsin makes hundreds of
similar units which are contained into wooden frames
as she transforms the units into an integrated
whole. Because the handcrafted, repetitive process
makes each unit slightly different to the next,
there is a dynamic vibrancy about the pieces |
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