Artists
Catherine Mackey
Wandering around cities I discover unexpected beauty, most often on an architectural scale: elegant modular tapestries of high-rise buildings; pragmatic factory windows; and loading bays. This is architecture at its simplest - monolithic forms; repetition; and the theater of light and shadow. But this simplicity belies the rich layering of narrative found in the urban environment. Architectural scars, signage, utility symbols, and posters - all suggest stories about the buildings and the people who have used them. My work process starts with found treasure - old posters acquired from city streets around the world. During the process of soaking and separating these posters unexpected juxtapositions of layered images and words will appear. This unplanned collage plays an important role in the development of the piece, affecting compositional decisions and inspiring the palette. Construction always begins with these pre-used narratives (music events, a visiting circus, political campaigns) and their story is woven in with the story of the painted layer. This process hints at past lives, and conveys the age, decay, and visual richness which surround us in the city. Sometimes the poster-treasure shouts for attention, becoming the subject itself, and sometimes it whispers its interaction with the painting, waiting to be discovered.