Please Explain.

Please Explain.

With the Gosford Art Prize coming up on September 23rd I thought I would share one of the paintings I have entered. http://www.gosford.nsw.gov.au/gosfordartprize I am not one for lengthy essays to accompany my art, I believe the audience in an art exhibition should connect directly with the paintings they like. In some cases the so called message that drives the creation of an artwork can render that artwork a dud. Mostly because we all come to see art with our own collection of biases, education and cultural backgrounds. So if a thousand people are looking at the same painting, there is a good chance there will be a thousand different meanings this artwork creates in the minds and hearts of the observers.

"Pilbara Reincarnation 1"

This painting is an oil painting on linen. It is inspired by my time living in the Pilbara in a town called Karratha.  https://www.karratha.wa.gov.au While living in Karratha I witnessed on a 24/7 basis, ore trains over two kilometres long, full of ore being delivered to our closest port, Dampier. https://karratha.wa.gov.au/map-listing/dampier

While watching one of the trains, one very hot day, I imagined that ore, destined for China was able to reconstitute itself and reincarnate itself back to the Pilbara in it's present form. In this case the reincarnated Pilbara iron ore has reincarnated as the CCTV building Beijing. https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/cctv-building-beijing-china-architecture

I have brought the ore back in this painting to the port where it left our shores, Dampier. I saw this constant moving of our land from mine to ship and to far off lands. In 2014 I spent two months in Beijing on a Red Gate Residency program. http://www.redgategallery.com/residency/introduction-and-history  This is where my imagination solidified the concept and early renditions of this painting were born. I would like this painting to be selected for the Gosford Art Prize so I can share this story with the large audience who attend this wonderful annual exhibition.

Pilbara Reincarnation oil on linen. By Yianni Johns

Ore Train Karratha by Yianni Johns

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