Seeking equivalence

: Exploring dualities in landscape painting practice

Abstract

Dualities evident in aspects of the visual world provide a framework for exploring how equivalence of landscape experience might be portrayed through the medium of paint. Research into micro/macro, past/present and here/there is driven by the text/image duality. This duality encompasses ekphrasis and gives rise to discussion on the process of making a visual but non-illustrative response to a poem. The writings of Gilles Deleuze (1925 – 1995) on Francis Bacon (1909 – 1992) are instrumental in investigating the function of paint to transmit feeling and act as a catalyst for the painting process itself. Each duality comprises two opposing or paired concepts or themes and in attempting to find accordance between each pair a tension is created that leads to a flow of ideas. This is exemplified by the micro/macro duality that invites comparison of small structures observed in rock fragments to large scale landscape formations and generates an imaginative response. Through juxtaposition of dualities new links between seemingly disparate subject matter are formed: geology and poetry, for instance, are brought together in a project that combines a particular rock type found in Cumbria with poems by Wordsworth (1770 – 1850). This provides a basis for autobiographical reflection on the here/there and past/present. Such juxtaposition acts to enrich the substance and scope of project material, forming a matrix of possibilities for further research. This process can be seen as a precursor towards a rhizomic approach, one where connections can be made between similar and dissimilar subjects with no barriers or hierarchical boundaries.

Date of Award	15 May 2014
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Aberystwyth University
Supervisor	Simon Pierse (Supervisor) & John Harvey (Supervisor)