New Work: Helen Langley
Artist's statement:
The unique beauty that is revealed in flotsam has a strong resemblance to the beauty I see in nature.
Sea life have left their delicate traces to form lace like patterns on the surface of wood while the rusted nails and shell like crusations leave their own subtle imprint.
As a child I collected cobwebs on bent twigs and small bright fan shells from the beach, I still collect discarded objects for their aesthetic value. It is my particular interest in line, form and our natural New Zealand heritage that I bring to each piece.
My objective in this work is to preserve the temporal beauty of flotsam by stopping the natural disintegration process and to juxtapose it with preserved New Zealand flora and fauna. My art is to make visible the aesthetic quality of these found objects and give them a fresh voice.
Methods of preserving:
- Encaustic – encases in wax, act as a shield against decay
- Traditional gesso – coats the form, preserving and providing a drawing surface
- Rabbit skin glue – protective surface on bare wood
- Pencil drawings – an interpretation of a real thing, preserving its form for display
- Varnish - mat
International Artists I admire who have worked with found wood: NZ/Au artist Roseline Gascoigne and English artist Roger Ackling.
Helen Langley is a Graduate with a Batchelor of Fine Arts (Fine Arts Major) from Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design in 2005
8 September 2009
The Lane Gallery