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Marina Louw
Media -
Paintings
Email - marinalouw@lantic.net
As far as I know, there is nothing pedantic about my work: no messages, no doctrines or philosophies.
As an artist, I see myself as an observer rather than a philosopher. The subject matter of the work does not intend to convey any deeper meaning, it is important mainly as an accidental part of my observed reality that has to filter through me in order to be turned into a work of art.
As far as my observations are concerned, there is, on the one hand, the world around me, that must be observed in order to be turned into a work of art, and on the other hand the much more important, interesting and intricate process of the creation of the work of art: the "conversation" between the medium and the subject-matter, as well as between the different objects depicted on the canvas. Even though I am in reality the creator of the work of art, the fact that I never dictate the outcome of the work, ultimately puts me in the role of an observer of a process that happens between myself and the artwork.
As far as the development of my work over the years is concerned, there is also a certain process that can be observed. Whereas in my earlier works I was fascinated by the intricate workings of everyday life around me, concentrating on every small detail, I have recently become bored and saturated by the plurality of things, and started concentrating on the most simple forms of things, the roots of existence, which ultimately resulted in a confrontation with the nothingness underlying all existing things. While I believe that this process will, like previous processes in my work, get a life of its own and take on its own direction , I am, in the meantime, paradoxically fulfilled by the simplicity of, for instance, a table with the light shining on it. I find the freedom of doing something as simple as that, and of observing what happens in paint with my observation of such simplicity, more intoxicating and healing than the possible exploration of the bizarre workings of my own mind. In the end, nothing is too simple to celebrate, even though the focus might usually be more on acceptance than celebration, as far as the acceptance of an ordinary suburban life from which there is no escape, and the merciless beauty of our own loneliness, is concerned.
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