Dreamy, feminine, sensual and psychologically introspective, these works by Eris Silke at Art b, are both captivating and disturbing at times, writes Danny Shorkend.
Her language, in particular her idiosyncratic uses of acrylic and glaze, is highly original and meticulous, laboriously rendered detail and harbouring potentially profound ideas.
Her paintings make reference to the “old world”, a kind of Victorian England. In this respect, her subjects wear costumes of that era, a kind of mask-like effect that both reveals and conceals. On the one hand, the subjects reveal deep psychological seeing-in (to use theorist Wollheim’s terminology) and on the other hand, they conceal – they stare out blankly, they are covered in make-up and exist in a world of make-believe. This fantasy realm is replete with an implied ambience – often theatrical, musical and in a constant state of flux.
And this is reflected in the almost pointillist-like rendering as dots coagulate to form light and shade and define features of figures in motion and faces that stare out at the perceiver/viewer.
Moreover, her paintings often incorporate little dashes of colour, hints of a certain wild and passionate energy. This, then is further expressed with her use in certain instances of ornate framing devices and that dovetails with Silke’s use of found objects stuck strategically onto some of her paintings. This gives many of the works on view an object-like effect or quality, as if the paintings themselves are a kind of Middle Ages installation and thus ought to be enmeshed within a life-context or world. Yet, the works “use” is primarily philosophical and psychologically rich.
In addition, there are numerous literary references. There is strong sense of the dynamics of human relationships and an attempt to find the self amidst that. There are odd combinations as well: a toad sitting on a woman’s head; crowns; lace that adorns the figures and shrouds the face; disembodied portraits of people known by the artist; highly intense interactions and often titles that indicate a kind of surreal mixing and matching.
In one example, entitled “ Sigmund Freud and the mystic moon”, one is struck by the powerful image of the scientist flanked by two toads (one on top of the other) and a moon on top of that. Around the central image are flowery designs painstakingly rendered. My reading is that perhaps the artist intends – notwithstanding the intentional fallacy – to assert that our animal nature is happy as amphibian – on land and on water, implying that the conscious (land) and the subconscious (water) dimensions of self need to coalesce and in that fusion give light, allowing one to rise above the merely animal and carnal, to go beyond – and hence a reference to the moon.
Eris Silke is a self-taught artist (though with formal training in psychology) and to her credit has been a professional artist since 1975. She is currently represented by Kunskamer and has had numerous shows over the years, including paintings at the South African National Gallery, Stellenbosch Museum, the UCT library and College of Music and more recently at Serendipity, Burr and Muir Antique Collections.
For a highly imaginative, visually articulate and inventive retreat into another dimension, it would be worthwhile to make a trip to Art b in Bellville.
You may be pleasantly surprised by the curious paradoxes presented (rather than contradictions): Often bordering on insanity, yet light and tender. At times the work appears vacant and vacuous, yet full of life and vigour. As the sub-title to this exhibition conveys, her work is at once about the terrifying prospect of death and the submission of self embraced in the warmth of feelings of love. The dialectic between life and death is then given a positive spin whereby love surpasses the daunting notion of expiry and triumphs – not only in life proper but also when the mortal coil gives way. Such conflicts, perhaps best expressed in the main by her alternative use of black and white, perhaps mirrors the very intense dualities that beset life itself, both in theory and the actual, tangible experience of being – and becoming.
Treat yourself to a visit.
WHAT: REALITY DREAMS: Stronger than death is love, paintings and drawings by Eris Silke
WHERE: Art b, Bellville Library, Carl Van Aswegen St, Bellville, Cape Town, 7530
WHEN: Until September 30th
Review by DANNY SHORKEND first appeared in the Cape Times
