Shane McAdams Slinger 2013 Ball-point pen ink, oil and resin on panel, 121.9 x 121.9 cm (48 x 48”)
Caroline Jane Harris Open Network 2013 Hand-cut layered matt paper 57.7 x 57.7 x 4.8 cm (22.7 x 22.7 x 1.8”)
5th September – 19th October 2013
Scream and British fashion designer Matthew Williamson are to present a two-person exhibition Hand to Earth featuring Caroline Jane Harris (UK) and Shane McAdams (USA). Both artists experiment with unusual mediums – paper, ball-point pen ink, resin – taking nature and landscapes as a starting point but with very different results.
Scream are delighted to collaborate with Matthew Williamson who was inspired by McAdam?s work and his imagery is evident in Williamson?s Spring/Summer 2013 collection that was received with great acclaim. Williamson?s new collection for Autumn 2013 also encompasses the organic, delicate intricacies of tree branches echoed in the paper works by Caroline Jane Harris. This fusion of art, fashion and nature provides a rich context to present the work of these two promising emerging artists.
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About The Artists
Caroline Jane Harris explores the intricacies of nature through a labour-intensive paper-cutting technique. She responds to visual phenomena in nature; the endless geometric patterns found in all levels of existence. Using tree formations as her starting point, Harris creates an abstract representation of nature, through the symmetrical rendering of digitally printed photographs, which are then hand-cut and layered. The process is meditative and obsessive, requiring concentration, repetition and discipline. The hand allows for subtle distortions and reminds the viewer of nature?s imperfections. Once layered, the two dimensional paper-cuts have an inherent sense of depth creating a kaleidoscopic and abstracted imitation of nature. Harris explores the dichotomy in science and art, traditional processes and contemporary practices. Having graduated from Camberwell College of Art, London and a Fine Art Printmaking degree at the University of Brighton in 2009, Harris has already exhibited in the UK, India, Singapore and Basel. In 2013 Harris was short- listed for the Aesthetica Art Prize and is the winner of the Chelsea Arts Club Trust Stan Smith Award.
Brooklyn-based painter Shane McAdams uses ball-point pen, oil and resin to create his evocative and otherworldly landscapes. McAdams grew up with the desert southwest as a backdrop and was visually taken by its sculpted topography; how the layered strata of the rock formations came to be exposed by erosion from wind and water, and how the incremental and chaotic effects of time and climate could conspire to create something more orderly than something man-made. McAdams sees these landscapes and their geology as “reflecting the dueling relationships between the natural and the man-made, the temporal and spatial and the objective and the subjective”. By using mundane materials such as ball-point pen ink and Elmer?s glue, McAdams pushes the limits of these materials to create utopian and idealized images. In the Synthetic Landscape series McAdams? skilled painting and draughtsmanship is evident. McAdam?s pours the ink onto the canvas and blows to create these streaks of colour that act as a vortex for the surreal, imagined landscapes loosely based on the scenery of his childhood. These ?portals? create an intriguing tension between the natural and the synthetic, the real and the imagined. The artist states “I?ve remained amazed that the incremental and chaotic effects of time and climate could conspire to create something more structured and unique than I could with my own hands.” McAdams has shown extensively in the US and his work has been featured in Vogue, The New York Times, Seattle Times, The Huffington Post, and The New York Observer.
Both artists allude to the transcience of time; McAdams? imagery incorporates the layered rock formations and depictions of landscapes that constantly change over time through either man-made or elemental causes; Harris in the actual physical production of her work, and by using paper as her medium the tree itself is regenerated and becomes part of the work, but manipulated by the artist?s hand. The use of layers to reinforce this idea is adopted by both artists with McAdams layering paint, resin and ink and Harris layering the lattice-like compositions to create depth and shadows where the intricate lines reverberate and almost take on a life of their own, beyond the picture plane.
