In 2004 my work became more politicised and I started to make more studio-based work in response to a wider global political framework and the war in Iraq in particular. For this process I returned to the technique of figurative wood carving and modelling which seemed to offer a more considered and direct approach to image making.
In many ways I am dealing with very traditional media and concerns but the images are contemporary and are a response to the bewildering bombardment of reportage photography. It is not my desire to record a history of present times, nor am I seeking the perfection of the athlete. Instead I'm looking for the individual, the non-idealised body which through its very ordinariness can convey a sense of empathy and communicate a universal truth which transcends the original story.
Digital cameras, camera phones, and the internet have all added to the stream of grainy images recording dramatic news events as they happen. There is immediacy to these images and they are consumed on a daily basis. By selecting these iconic images from the public domain and translating them through carving and modeling they become tangible. The resulting work questions our conditioned responses and searches for the humanity in these daily images of socio-political conflict.
Work in progress
.JPG)
'Stress position' is taken from one such newspaper image of
an Iraqi man being 'softened up' by American soldiers. The man stands naked and
terrified as two ferocious dogs are straining at the leash. It is fragment of
time captured in a grainy photograph which reveals an unromanticised image of
prisoner abuse and the physical impact on the human body. The resulting bronze figure has been
painted using CMYK colour to try and replicate the quality of the original
newspaper image.
Decay
Marielle van den Bergh (NL) Kevin Dagg (UK) Mels Dees (NL) Natalie Taylor (UK) part of the Edinburgh Art Festival 2010 at Patriothall Gallery off Hamilton Place, Stockbridge, Edinburgh, EH3 5EY Artist Blogs:http://www.patriothallgallery.co.uk/pages/festival-exhibition/decay-exhibition-blog.php
pARTners
30th October - 11th December 2010
Group exhibition of international artists
Individual works and pieces inspired by their personal relationship. KEG- expo
Cultureel centrum
Schijndel
The Netherlands