The Feeling of Nothingness
ATOI & CULL
London
2012
Water, discarded canvass's from the late Joe Burke, faux leather, timber
ATOI & CULL, Enclave
London
2013
ATOI & CULL, Enclave
London
2013
The cliffs have been eroded by the sea. The minder of the work has been infiltrated. The mortality of the material prolonged.
"Earth, land and sea form the basis of the work. The pieces are intended to be contemplative as it is the feeling of nothingness that is found in nature and its vastness that influences the use of colour and shape.
This is the world as imagined and not as it is seen, though reference is often made to the weather and the erosion of land and sea, by nature and by man" J.Burke.
The physically re working of Burkes paintings (directly referencing the way Burke describes his own work), not only prolongs but also decays the canvases mortality and existence. This allows us to question and highlight the dedication and significance of Burkes own work, whilst also showing that "the very nature of the creative act itself remains contested". *
The Canvas's, sag and drape over a sculptural, angular, padded chamber reminiscent of a geological "black landscape" and the triangular formations used by ATOI symbolise the union of two, ultimately creating a third. The heavily painted surfaces of Burkes canvas's have been stitched to one another to form a sculptural chain that leads to the centre of the gallery. The canvas's appear to emerge from the back wall, depicting land formations, or tectonic plates, lining up as if to be chosen to become part of this fictitious eroding island. The stretched canvas's tearing at the seams await the heart of a mirrored triangular structure. The reflective pool and the erosive material all symbolic of the immortal, earth's elements and the coming together of two separate entities which both prolongs and questions the mortality of the work.
"Earth, land and sea form the basis of the work. The pieces are intended to be contemplative as it is the feeling of nothingness that is found in nature and its vastness that influences the use of colour and shape.
This is the world as imagined and not as it is seen, though reference is often made to the weather and the erosion of land and sea, by nature and by man" J.Burke.
The physically re working of Burkes paintings (directly referencing the way Burke describes his own work), not only prolongs but also decays the canvases mortality and existence. This allows us to question and highlight the dedication and significance of Burkes own work, whilst also showing that "the very nature of the creative act itself remains contested". *
The Canvas's, sag and drape over a sculptural, angular, padded chamber reminiscent of a geological "black landscape" and the triangular formations used by ATOI symbolise the union of two, ultimately creating a third. The heavily painted surfaces of Burkes canvas's have been stitched to one another to form a sculptural chain that leads to the centre of the gallery. The canvas's appear to emerge from the back wall, depicting land formations, or tectonic plates, lining up as if to be chosen to become part of this fictitious eroding island. The stretched canvas's tearing at the seams await the heart of a mirrored triangular structure. The reflective pool and the erosive material all symbolic of the immortal, earth's elements and the coming together of two separate entities which both prolongs and questions the mortality of the work.