24 Jul Mostly, it is about trying

When the large scale world becomes overwhelming there is comfort in something handheld and small. In dividing up what you’re faced with into small blocks, manageable and quantifiable, In painting the detail there are still blurs, pools of ink or watercolour, a pencil line that travels too far. There are always mistakes, inconsistencies, something to fix, one square bleeding into another. Debra Dawes speaks about these inconsistencies in the systems she uses in constructing mathematical structures and grids in her work, as where life imposes itself. The systems come undone and it is her response to this and the decisions she makes where it becomes interesting. It brings to mind Leonard Cohen’s assertion that although there is a crack in everything, that’s where the light gets in.

This project feels like a process of trying to get something right. Of balancing representation, impression and expression. There is a tension in creating work that is appealing and work that says something that maybe isn’t appealing. Of cautious underworking and overworking a painting past the point of no return. If I take it one square at a time will it be right? As Dawes says about her own work: “Mostly, it is about trying.”