Mirror, Mirror, 2019
Contemporary non-religious icon. Paint on wooden board, water gilded with gesso, Antique White bole, a little gin, and palladium.
73 x 73 x 1.7 cm 28 3/4 x 28 3/4 x 5/8 in
THROW US IN THE WATER
AND WATCH THE RIPPLES GROW. SKIM US ACROSS THE SURFACE
AND WATCH THE RIPPLES OUTWARD FLOW. ONE OF US DIED TOO QUICKLY
AND ONE OF US TOO SLOW.
THROW US TO MAKE A SPLASH
AND THE RIPPLES WILL GROW.
Using traditional skills and techniques from icon painting the piece takes a contemporary twist. Traditional gold is exchanged for palladium, a metal named after the Greek Goddess Pallas Athena (goddess of virtue in wisdom and war). The religious icon requirements of ‘theology, doctrine and history’ are replaced by the mythological undertones ascribed
The reflective water ripple effect places the viewer in the piece and reflects the surroundings (via the mirror quality of the metal), the title of the piece (Mirror, Mirror), and the ambiguity as to whether we should read it as if we are the stone or the stone thrower, work together to add depth to the multiple meanings or ripples of the piece. Yet, the poem is as much about skimming stones as it is about the catalyst for the law of unplanned consequence. The poem reads: THROW US IN THE WATER AND WATCH THE RIPPLES GROW. SKIM US ACROSS THE SURFACE AND WATCH THE RIPPLES OUTWARD FLOW. ONE OF US DIED TOO QUICKLY AND ONE OF US TOO SLOW. THROW US TO MAKE A SPLASH AND THE RIPPLES WILL GROW. Using traditional skills and techniques from icon painting the piece takes a contemporary twist. Traditional gold is exchanged for palladium, a metal named after the Greek Goddess Pallas Athena (goddess of virtue in wisdom and war). The religious icon requirements of ‘theology, doctrine and history’ are replaced by the mythological undertones ascribed.
