another source of inspiration

I went to the exhibition ‘A Brave New World’ at the Air Space gallery today. Two artists involved in the gallery, plus a photographer, worked with two primary schools in the city, helping the pupils develop their ideas about imaginary worlds.

I’m not a fan of adult naïve or primitive art, but these genuinely naïve pieces were full of joyful experimentation. On arrival at the gallery, you’re given some notes about the exhibition and a deliberately crude home-made kaleidoscope with which to create your own mosaic viewpoints of the work on display.

There are drawings on the walls, clay maquettes on shelves and papier mache creations on the floor, dangling from the ceiling and filling the corners. There are photographs taken through the kaleidoscopes to create abstract patterns hinting at symmetry, photographs taken in the dark of people waving lights to create bright squiggles, and a slideshow of blurry abstract shots that are intense and saturated, as well as juxtapositions of objects out of context providing contrast of shape, colour and texture.

The complete lack of self-consciousness in much of the work was exhilarating and inspiring. It made me want to try creating my own light drawings and mosaic patterns and blurry abstract shots, and not worry whether or not the results would be ‘good’. What higher praise can there be?

Tags: abstract, kaleidoscope, mosaic, pattern, school