July spent in the Red Coat

July spent in the Red Coat

In a blog post from April ’19 I wrote ……….

“The coat as a portal, its transformative nature. Symbolism – the number 8/Ariadne/Red Thread/Labyrinth. A deeper layer of intention, the notion that I am ‘protecting the child’ – the shadow of my past child?”

In July I entered the space of the red coat. Allowing it to become a fetishised relic, more a psychological space than a physically immersive space. How is it that painting clothing, empty of the body, creates another surrogate presence.

Drawn in charcoal. Underpainted in acrylic and completed using an alla prima approach, (done in one sitting) I tried keep a vigorous pace, finishing with oil bars. Oil Bars being an oversized mushy crayon reminiscent of days spent daubing walls in stolen lipstick.

The age tag, number 8. That liminal space between child-land and adult-land. 8 is also the symbol for infinity, transitions that echo in my own daughter. Red coat is a relic, a memento mori.

I see this as a piece as an individual component in a collection of other relics. I roughly tested them as a group in the studio, using the red wool as framing device. I plan to add more 3D objects to this group, as I go along. (And they no, they won’t all be red!)