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Respice Prospice Adspice
Following her first successful exhibition at the Lichfield Boat House Caroline Lowe is presenting her second two part installation. Inspired by her collection of antique photographs, she explores the social historical period from early photography to the 1950's. Studying the images reminds us that we are the same whatever period we live in. Families, holidays, achievements, hobbies, children, pets, fashion, captured in ink on paper. Caroline says "Each snapshot is a moment in someone's life and what I find intriguing are the stories that we don't see in the image. The history before the photograph and after it was taken, that we can only guess. There is a whole life beyond the image that is constantly changing. Sometimes we see the world just like a snapshot, without knowledge, empathy and understanding. I hope to encourage everyone to look beyond the surface and realise that there is more than outward appearance".
The Human Story
Boat House Residency, Stowe Pool, Lichfield
At the start of this project I had not heard about the Johnson’s Willow or knew much about Johnson himself, even after living in the area for over fifteen years. It seems that unless we make a bit of an effort many things just pass us by. I am pleased to say that now I know a lot more than I did, with thanks to the many people that have supported me. I wanted the work to be specific to the location, and after a bit of research the Johnson’s Willow was the obvious choice. This was at the end of last year before there had been so much media attention.
My work focuses on propagating knowledge to encourage empathy. In this instance, I was definitely propagating my own knowledge and displayed are some of the historic facts that I uncovered. There are many, but each has its own entire story that leads to a person or several people. The willow led to Samuel Johnson and associates such as Anna Seward. It also led to people who are passionate to preserve its memory such as John Winterton and The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum. Its variety and horticultural origins led to The Duke of Bedford and, how some of the remains of the timber were carved, led to Denis Parsons. Each discovery became more about people and the story than the actual willow tree. It became The Human Story from which the name evolved.
The willow is a variation of the original, regrown from saplings for over two hundred years. This reminded me of the music playing in the installation. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini: Variation 18. This also has an original that the next generation was inspired to use and keep the memory alive.
The willow saplings in the installation are cut from the fourth Johnson’s willow after its recent pollarding. They symbolise how precious the propagation of the willow is, but even more the stories that are part of its history. Placing them in a dark void creates an immersive experience, as though you are amid the branches and part of that history.
If only we could put ourselves in the shoes of others and discover that there is a human story behind everything, then empathy would be far easier to achieve.
Margaret Exhibition 2017
Caroline's work uses the materiality of a collection of abandoned rusted objects as a symbolic medium, to examine how perceptions are influenced by outward appearance. Through dramatically restaging the found objects, she engages the viewer with the immediate surface. Combined with sound Caroline creates an allegorical narrative to encourage the viewer to question the possibility that there is more than one way of seeing. She says that, there are more than our preconceived judgements and by finding out further information, negative perceptions could be transformed.
Flux Exhibition 2016
Royal College of Art, London
AA2A Residency 2015
Inspired By A Collection Of Field Finds, Caroline Explores A Contemporary Reflection On Indexicality. The Term First Discussed By Rosalind Krauss In 'The Originality Of The Avant-Garde And Other Modernist Myths', Has Changed With The Advancement Of Digital Technology And Now Questions The Authenticity Of The Image. What We Perceive To Be The Direct Imprint Is Now An Edited Version. These Visual Fragments Ask The Viewer To Consider How Reading The Surface Can Distort The Truth And How Much We Really Know About The World Around Us If We Only Judge It By It’s Fragmented And Edited Surface.
Inspired By A Collection Of Field Finds, Caroline Explores A Contemporary Reflection On Indexicality. The Term First Discussed By Rosalind Krauss In 'The Originality Of The Avant-Garde And Other Modernist Myths', Has Changed With The Advancement Of Digital Technology And Now Questions The Authenticity Of The Image. What We Perceive To Be The Direct Imprint Is Now An Edited Version. These Visual Fragments Ask The Viewer To Consider How Reading The Surface Can Distort The Truth And How Much We Really Know About The World Around Us If We Only Judge It By It’s Fragmented And Edited Surface.
http://aa2a.biz/pg/profile/caroline14
Fragments Solo Exhibition 2015
Shed 33 Exhibition June 2013 - Installation 68/183
Klankenbos, Belgium Residency 2012
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Klankenbos Residency, Belgium - Optical Sound 2012
‘Klankenbos’ is situated in the district of Neerpelt in Belgium. It is part of the Musica organisation and has ten permanent sound sculptures set within a forest. My proposal was to create a painting that was inspired by these spaces and sounds. During my initial research I discovered that sounds and colours have a relationship. Both can be compared by their frequencies or wavelengths and audio tones or musical notes can be converted to the visual spectrum of light. My preliminary idea was to complete a painting relating to this, but after spending time by each sound sculpture I realised that there was more than a direct translation. The nature that surrounded each sculpture affected how the colour could be translated. In the silence a pine cone created its own sound as it fell on the sculpture; the ravens nested outside the canary installation and made a greater noise and the silence of one of the broken sculptures was only broken by the fall of the oak leaves around it. This inspired how I used the colour, not just by representing the sound of the sculpture but also by using the nature around them. A pine cone painted blue became the visual sound of not just the sound sculpture but also the forest, an oak leaf was painted red to mimic the sound of another and I made a nest for the sound of the nature by another. These were then installed in or nearby the sculptures and became part of their space. |