25TH ANNUAL WALLACE ART AWARDS 2016 – finalist
25TH ANNUAL WALLACE ART AWARDS 2016
THE FOUNTAINHEAD
1500 x 1000mm
Combination of oil & INTERFERENCE oil paints
Artist Statement
THE FOUNTAINHEAD – the primary source of cultures past . . . with their expressions contributing to our contemporary perception of historical context – preserved in presentation as in a reliquary.
This ‘Interior’ becomes a stage for the exercise of my own invention of ideas and concepts of light and dark spaces and shapes in recognition of the history of these faces, figures and masks.
Impasto gold and silver, plus luminous ‘INTERFERENCE’ oil paints in combination with regular oil colours inter-mixed to produce colours with metallic sheens and reflective qualities . . . relating to our contemporary technological complexity and simplicity, luminosity and transparency of ‘space.’
Interference pigments are also sometimes called “pearlescent” or “iridescent” pigments, although since they work by interfering with light waves, thus causing the colour, “interference” is the most accurate name. These pigments are not particles but flakes of mica, usually coated with a microscopically thin layer of titanium dioxide pigment. When ground into a paint vehicle, these flakes will simultaneously reflect and transmit light, causing a coloured appearance that is dependent on how the flakes are positioned toward the light source, the thickness of the paint film, and the refraction in the flakes themselves.
The interference colour is produced when the retardation between the waves vibrating in perpendicular planes inside the crystal is equal to a whole number of wave-lengths.
This means that a yellow interference colour will appear equally with a retardation of 410 mµ (which is the landa of violet), or 820 mµ (2 * 410), or 1230mµ (3 * 410) and successive multiples.
The unique qualities of interference pigments are, unfortunately, difficult to depict photographically, the true character and potential of interference pigments may remain a mystery.
This painting is an imaginative continuation of my longstanding interest in painting ‘interiors.’ This is the home interior of a real-life art collector . . . I have recreated – transformed and introduced new faces and figures, also with New Zealand characters as an inter-play of cultures.
My current line of work is the exploration of human interiors . . . as expressions of human psychology and the historically varied styles of architectural design, both structurally and as surface adornment, that also is full of human symbolism.
The art residencies in the USA and Europe would all stimulate my painting ideas and energy through dialogue with fellow artists from other countries . . . while experimenting with my painting techniques and materials extending my Interior ideas into new dimensions.
Raymond Jennings - Artist 