CONFIGURING ESCUTCHEON
(2015-16)
The paintings below are a selection of the first series of paintings made as research into the heraldic forms of escutcheon. Eschutcheon are (formal) containers for symbolism and heritage statements, and these paintings aim to exploit the flexiblity in this form. The paintings focus on the parallax of form and function. There is an interior and an exterior, both of which oscillate between form and function as the paintings are viewed. When the treatment of thier ‘interior’ appears formal, the exterior appears functional, and vice-versa.
These paintings intentionally employ a very free association with the standard heraldic form of escutcheon, in order to ascertain how far these standardized forms can be abstracted before they dissipate. They collapse into forms recognizable to the eye, which are bodily forms. I play with this idea liberally, and use overtly libinal imagery - the original form connotes this anyway, so I am happy to externalize that here.
The history of escutcheon displays a wide variety in the types of forms, their usage and innovation. They are used both alone or highly adorned; they can support mythical creates as naturally as abstract color fields that represent a person, family, city or country. With this series of paintings, I am producing motifs, approaches and scale of the subsequent painting series Invented Glyphs and Repurposing Glyphs.
All paintings acrylic, ink and graphite on paper, 22"x33"
