The opening of Latitude, a joint show by Belinda Ormond and Katherine Hamilton (Hendricks), takes place at Muller’s Gallery on 5th September as part of First Thursdays.
Geographically speaking Latitude is about specifics – pinning a point precisely on a map. It’s a co-ordinate for orienting a plane relative to the equator, which is set at zero. It is a word that limits, fixes, specifies and leaves not much to creative license.
Alternatively, if used in terms of behavior, it speaks of liberty: freedom of thought and action.
How is it that a word can simultaneously hold such opposing ideas? Does this dichotomy also exist in the creative process? On the one hand the chosen tools and materials are prescriptive and fixed, bound by physical factors.
- In photography the elements of light are captured by mechanisms of the camera, governed by set rules.
- And in ceramics the chemistry of clay and the ability of the material to be manipulated will be driven by principles of science – an objective action.
On the other hand, the creative process is boundless and the artist has freedom to create an inexhaustible variety of works – becoming subjective.
All of these creative outcomes can be subsequently and methodically categorized, classified, studied and mapped – thus resulting in a dichotomy.
Belinda Ormond and Katherine Hamilton
Katherine Hamilton’s photographic method relates to the concept of ‘latitude ‘ in a similar way. Her selection of the subject matter and the light quality at the moment of shooting is carefully considered, yet the way in which she captures the scene is free and flexible. By moving the camera or shifting the lens in certain ways, the scene is altered and becomes an abstracted expression of what is being witnessed. There is an unrestricted quality visible in the images.
The sense of motion in some images and the ethereal quietness in others are unpredictable results of her use of camera and lens.
In “Smoke Towers” Belinda Ormond has left the unpredictable outcome and latitude up to the fire at the end of a match that has coloured the clay after a process of carefully stacking pots, wood and chemicals.
‘Latitude’ also applies to the freedom that the viewer has in their individual encounter and interpretation of each artwork. One’s reaction to the art is given no restrictions or boundaries; there is endless scope for what each piece can mean to each member of its audience.
Enjoy the freedom!
WHERE: Muller’s Gallery, 1st Floor, 104 Longmarket Street, Cape Town 8001
WHEN: 5 September 2019 from 18:00. Gallery hours: Mon to Fri 09:00 – 16:00; Sat 09:00 – 12:00.
INFO: Muller’s Gallery T 021 461 8130
