White Raiser, Red Reaper

news:

1981

White Raiser, Red Reaper, Dark Winnower of Grain: Burnaby Art Gallery, 1981

An ensemble of painting, relief and sculpture informed by the late Renaissance anatomical museum La Specola in Florence. The museum’s structural concept of a double mirror of anatomy: reproducing the seen through drawing and mirroring that initial representation in three dimensions, as well as the elaborate glass cases and silk and satin drapery used to support La Specola’s life-sized, coloured wax figures, informed many aspects of the work.

The project began with realistic renderings (Fred and Ed). The birthing sets (Baby Wall and Red Reaper) rose out of an awareness of the then absence of pregnancy and birthing imagery in society and in art. This led to the Numen reliefs and a set of wood, steel and papier mache’ containers (White Raiser, Red Reaper, Dark Winnower of Grain) with hidden text.

Titles are derived from Robert Graves The White Goddess.

Materials: paper, silk, watercolour, pastel, steel, wood, papier mache’