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(long post ahead, oh yes)
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In floral dimensions, and with forest bound hearts, we wander.....
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Cinnamon Forest (detail) see full version here.
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And we wander.....into god only knows what. One thing is for certain, these girls are of a serious albeit benevolent disposition: never prone to smiling, banal fashion, when a perfectly worked up little frown will do.
At one with imagined nature, as always. Escape into imagination is nessecary, essential, not to mention enlightening, yet reality refuses to budge. It flits restlessly at the fringe of dreams, insistent that we pay our respects, and yet dreamers will often make endless attempts to deny the grim realities of existence...... (myself included).
As a child, I once fancied that if I had been born of elfin stock, or had been of some sort of semi-angelic origin, or else the daughter of an immortal king who reigned over countless, enchanted lands, then the harsh realities of life would never have been able to touch me. I played with this idea for what feels like years, oh, years upon years, although perhaps it was merely a couple of weeks, months.......I dare say I'll never remember, but one thing I do know: I was appalled, even furious by the state of things in the adult world which surrounded me ...the threat of war, abduction, loss, evil, brutality, nightmares, etc.
And nothing, at all, has changed. I am still quite furious and even more so appalled. This sensation continues to masquerade behind the cottoncandy fairytale scenes which I create. Not always, but often. I am the eternal, nonplussed child, with an eye for luxury, a love of nature, a huge store of faith in goodness, and a whole lot of disdain for injustice. Anger is a useful emotion if you can learn how to harness it.
So, here I am, caught in the thick of this eternal struggle to process the joys and woes of simply 'being human'. This messy thing called life confuses me, yet I am still somewhat inclined to consider it an 'adventure'. I have incredible faith in this, for I choose to perceive life as an ongoing adventure; one that incorporates both pain and beauty for reasons of which I am not yet aware.
I have always been fascinated by the concepts of duality and transformation, and this may go some small way to explaining many of the repetetive themes in my work: twins, sulking girls with wild hearts, anomalies, their affinity with wild creatures, and trees. In some of these works, nature might be perceived to be taking over, re-establishing itself firmly alongside the more 'civilised' pretensions of our world (The Sympathy of Wolves being my most cherished example: with the wolf-heart-nature of the young girl becoming disconcertingly manifest, and yet the girl remains - to all appearances - so composed, so demure, wearing her most costly, magnificent gown...)
Or else trees may sprout suddenly from young ladies heads, at the cost of their common sense and gravity. Rabbits, mice and wild deer develop human limbs and a taste for fashion in a comical attempt to ape humanity, reminding us that we are, after all, no different from themselves.
To summarise this waffle (before an essay is born), I should perhaps conclude that these sombre looking girls are essentially an expression of concern and love for nature: my own concern for the environment, and my protectiveness towards animals, trees, the precious things, and our apparent disconnection from the wilderness within ourselves. Some of us retain this, and cherish it secretly, some of us express it outwardly, in protest, or in an effort to create awareness. I, myself choose to explore it through visual means. So there you have Art&Ghosts, ladies and gentlemen, in a nutshell, so to speak.
Sometimes I consider all of the points that I have mentioned above, and I wonder.........homo sapien: the most intelligent animal on planet earth (alledgedly)............and the most destructive to that which gives life.
And yet I still hope that we are continuously, if unconsciously, striving to evolve towards something quite grand!
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I have recently edited to remove a couple of images. I have no idea why they appear distorted when uploaded here, but I will try to figure it out. To view more of my recent works, please check out my flickr stream.
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I would also love to share my Coraline'd Kitten with you:
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I recently purchased the score to this film, which has fast become a favourite of all time. 'Dreaming', in particular, is simply perfection.
Alas, Coraline will not appear at my local cinema's until late May, so I am holding out, feverishly, for the DVD.
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Now, before I slink off to read something dark and delicious in the half light of our winter dawn, I should like to share some of my most recent inspirations, musical favourites and creative web finds:
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From A to L:
A Photograph by Vinna
D Petit magazine(photo by the small object)
H Ladurée
J My latest copy of Lula
K Charlotte Gainsbourg CD (5:55)
L Alpinisms, School of Seven Bells CD
Love, always, Louxxx