A brush with verse: When painter and poet are one
Artist Jane Thompson sees time as more of a continuum than linear and her art and poetry reflect that.
Where does painting end and poetry begin? And, likewise, when does artist Jane Thompson morph into the poet Veda Laferne?
There are no clear-cut answers to those questions, but you may get a sense of what’s going on at Vacant Assembly gallery in West End later this week, where both the paintings and the poetry will be on display.
Exhibition Amidst the jewels of us; day series features the original artwork of Brisbane artist Jane Thompson, accompanied by the poetic voice of her alter ego Veda Laferne, with a musical soundscape by Aiko Takahashi.
Each painting is assigned to an hour of the day, inviting us to journey beyond what we know and what we think we can expect within the confines of our clock-driven day.
Featuring 12 poems and artworks, between 5am and 4pm, and the publication Amidst the jewels of us (which you can purchase on her website or at the exhibition), the art show “seeks to guide you towards the hidden trails and teachings of our days, inviting you to linger, expand and connect to a more natural pace of being”.
It’s not as linear as it you might imagine, though, says Thompson, who wants us to break free from the confines of time as it is “contrived by man”.
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“The whole purpose is taking time to notice things we don’t notice because we are preoccupied with time,” Thompson says. “I’m offering the idea and some space to slow down and consider that there are more things happening than what we are observing or taking in.”
Her philosophy sounds a tad Zen at times but there are Jungian psychological concepts here also and spiritual and metaphysical ideas too, intended or not.
Thompson attempts to connect with her own subconscious each morning by writing before she paints. She calls the results her “morning pages”.
“I’m an early riser,” Thompson says. “The quiet hours of the morning are sacred hours before all the chaos of today’s living infiltrates your mindset.”
Before family life and busy days kick in.
Some of the words she puts down influence her poetry, which is quite magical and compelling. The artist, who divides her time between Brisbane and a property just across the border in NSW, says her writing and paintings are intrinsically connected.
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“After many years of undertaking a daily writing practice to deepen my art, curious sentences began to appear and poetry began to take shape,” she explains in her artist statement. “The paintings became insistent they be realised in connection with the words and thus a literary-art practice was born. I came to refer to this writing practice as the poetic voice of Veda Laferne, who eventually became both my writing alias and creative muse.
“Today the paintings are formed and resolved usually in the context of words or a poem, but this is not to say which one comes first. When I paint, I intentionally work with acrylics for their fast-drying and flexible nature, as well as oil sticks and graphite for their ability to capture the immediate rawness and sensation of a moment.
“In addition, the acrylic paint is often highly diluted to achieve a sense of freedom and boundlessness; the new painting comes to life almost immediately, as fresh terrain is covered but this time with a more flowing certainty of its cause. If I tip the canvas, more washy paint is spread, which is deeply satisfying. Equally, the spraying of water onto the already watered down paint, allowing the pigments to fragment and disperse even further.
“There is fulfilment in the unanticipated, just as there is hope as the painting embarks on a more realised form, now in connection with the context and feeling of words as written by Veda Laferne and Jane.”
The close connection between painting and poetry is nothing new. Ancient Chinese art and poetry were similarly connected, and artists and poets have often collaborated or inspired each other.
Brisbane artist and gallery director Buckley Lowe, of B.Lowe Art Gallery, has shown Thompson’s work and says it is “visually connected to her soul”.
“Her works are just mesmerising, and I think she is one of Australia’s finest abstract expressionists,” Lowe says. “And she is forever evolving.”
Amidst the jewels of us; day series official opening is at Vacant Assembly, 266 Montague Rd, West End, on October 30, 5pm-9pm, $15:
Attend an in-conversation event with Jane Thompson discussing Amidst the jewels of us, $65, at Books@Stones, 360 Logan Rd, Stones Corner, on November 12, 6.30pm-7.30pm:
events.humanitix.com/books-stones-event-amidst-the-jewels-of-us-by-jane-thompson
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