elsewHERE: a dialogue of contrasts

 

 

 

elsewHERE: a dialogue of contrasts

 by Sarah Gerrard

Photographs I had taken on trips abroad inspired the first paintings in this series: the places seemed exotic, colourful, foreign.  As I explored my own personal style of contrasting brush strokes and playing with light and colour I began to be inspired by images closer to home more typical of prairie artists: farmland, the sky, and the Saskatoon river bank began to surface in my paintings.   My painting style, I hoped, would help viewers’ gazes enter paintings and glean impressions of places regardless of whether these were foreign or familiar scenes.   

After I had completed several paintings of both abroad and home it became clear to me that the two were more connected than I had first thought.   Similarities in composition and subject matter meant that portraits of two very different places, Northern Saskatchewan and Australia for example, actually seemed to relate to one another in a variety of ways: both paintings illustrate nature, speak to strength of place, and reflect a quiet stillness.  As a result I became interested in viewing the prairies in relation to elsewhere, and in the dynamic this created when viewing the work. 

When I am abroad my senses are always on high alert: I never know what scene lies down a right or left turn, and that is part of the mystique and adventure of travel.  In contrast I don’t often “see” the beautiful prairie scenery around me because I am so used to it; it simply fades into the background of my everyday life.  For example, I drive over the university bridge on a daily basis, but rarely notice the light reflecting off the river or backlighting the city’s skyline.  By placing “like” paintings next to each other I began to see home on the prairies in a new and more intense way: I read the space differently.

As I set out to paint sister scenes I was originally attracted to painting those of beauty: the Bessborough is a beautiful building, but placed next to a Cathedral in Granada it echoes the European architecture and is that much more awe inspiring.  Later, as the body of work evolved, I sought out subject matter from a more psychological perspective: grain elevators as symbols of power and territory in contrast to castles elsewhere.   History, diversity, and industry’s impact on place all became concepts to explore in this work as I was curious about the change that occurs in viewers’ reactions to such images when they “read” them in relation to similar ones abroad. 

These paintings are portraits that reflect contrasting parts of society.  The landscapes, buildings, and cityscapes, speak to viewers about the people who have (or have not) touched their spaces.  This work highlights contrasts within Saskatoon, within Saskatchewan, and within the world, and yet when I sit back and look at the collective work as a whole, I feel as though it is what these places all share in common that emerges.  By placing diverse images of home in contrast with those of abroad my hope is that a silent dialogue begins between these places and the viewer: questions are posed, statements are made, and it is up to the viewers to engage in the dialogue.