Lesley Chan

Growing

This work explores the ontology of nature beyond the human influence, disassociating from the innate human behavior of attaching sentiments towards inanimate objects. By deconstructing the natural shapes and textures of plant life into simplified forms, I re-construct their semiotics in order to question and re-articulate their relationships with the observer.

“This work aims to provide an experience where viewers can appreciate nature through its fundamental forms rather than through pre-existing views attached with their biases and prejudices. The series is in a constant state of growth and evolution, both in the development of its individual compositions, as well as through the addition of new panels. These panels are arranged to form a loosely structured line directed upwards, similar to the natural form of climbing vines as the work continues to grow.Each panel acts as a snapshot that reflects one of the various stages that occur in the painting process (from light washes into detailed compositions). Rather than having all the panels achieve finality in the sense similar to when a painting is finished, the composition is purposely left in a state of incompleteness. While there was a clear direction towards the application of the brush to the wooden canvas, the marks are absorbed and distorted by the nature of the canvas itself.Working with raw wood panels creates a natural antagonistic relationship between the painter and the canvas, stemming from the brush fueled by human influence and the structure of the wood transforming those inputs free from those influences. The wood creates unpredictable results: absorbing pigments, spreading in different directions, emphasizing the natural texture and marks present within the wood.The application of water increases the variations produced by the wood and reduces the harshness of the brush marks, allowing the colours to blend with one another.The use of these specific materials has the painter re-establish the standard one-way relationship of the painter and the canvas. By giving the canvas more autonomy in influencing the direction of the art, it forces the painter to adapt to changing circumstances. The process of creating a painting in a continuous state of incompleteness, and the result of the struggle between the painter and the canvas, is a reflection of natural mechanisms present within nature that allow it to evolve in response to human influence and continue to thrive to no end.”