My previous post gave the background (with a lot of technical stuff too) for my exhibit at 2 Girls Gallery. The exhibit consisted of a small 25 x 25cm, oil on aluminium painting and a digital animation, duration just over 2 minutes. which I would like to demonstrate here. So please see below the two items, along with explanatory labels reflecting the animation and the painting in relation to each other.
TIMELINE 1 – The Temporality and Potential Endlessness of the LineJanet Waring Rago, 2017,62 frame GIF; 31.5 seconds duration.This is the starting work in an exploration of the meaning of ‘line’: the expression of ‘line’ as a temporal process and living metaphor for the poetic idea of extension, liminality, and boundary. The animation discloses the hidden narrative of the painting as a series of fleeting glimpses that tells of the ephemeral story of a painting. Each image is a painting I have to leave behind in a continual progression. Each image nonetheless creates an imprint in my mind which is near forgotten and superseded by subsequent and equally temporary images. Only the final image remains, and it too is only part of a potentially endless line. Each one of the 62 frames corresponds to a line of the poem Omphalos by Nicholas Gulig in conversation with my work. The 62 frame cycle is repeated 4 times. This collaboration was curated and documented by Jeffrey Pethybridge at likestarlings.com. The painting OMPHALOS – drowned to nothing and became, accompanying this animation corresponds to the last line of the poem.
OMPHALOS – drowned to nothing and becameJanet Waring Rago, 2016Oil on aluminium, 25 x 25 cm
As part of a conversation between painter and poet, curated by Jeffrey Pethybridge at likestarlings.com, Nicholas Gulig wrote ‘Omphalos’ in response to a series of my paintings. This particular painting is, in turn, a response to that poem. It marks the endpoint of a potentially endless process. In the animation, TIMELINE 1 – The Temporality and Potential Endlessness of the Line, shown in this exhibition, I am exploring the meaning of ‘line’ as a temporal ‘object’. The animation discloses the hidden narrative of this painting as a series of fleeting glimpses that tells of the ephemeral story of a painting. Each image is a painting I have to leave behind. Each one of these nonetheless creates a brief imprint in my mind which is superseded by subsequent, equally temporary images. The final stage itself is only one in a potentially endless line.Title from the last line of poem OMPHALOS by Nicholas Gulig – for full text go to
Note to self: in summary, the above GIF represents the sequence for the purposes of this post. The Quick Time movie (see the previous post), which was the actual exhibit now needs to be represented. Opening up a new YouTube channel (something I have not yet done) will serve to create a whole new means of communication for me, moving things on considerably. Participation in this exhibition had several quite severe challenges, as outlined already but I was able to meet them and uncover in the process next steps forward at levels technical as well as artistic, which I shall be integrating as I go.