Art may appear abstract and unintelligible to some perceivers, but it is a world that allows artists the freedom to give vent to their creativity and ingenuity.
Such would be the reaction of those visiting a series of ‘Hyperrealism’ paintings that are now on show at the Upstairs Gallery, located at 13 Totara Avenue in the West Auckland suburb of New Lynn.
The portraitures may appear as ‘someone familiar,’ and yet their identity would be so obscured that no one except the artist would know.
Created by University of Auckland student Melodie Joseph, the exhibition will be open to public until May 4, 2013 from Monday to Friday (10 am to 430 pm) and on Saturdays (10 am to 3 pm).
Window to soul
Melodie said her favourite theme is people, especially their faces.
“Every person is unique and facial features are the best source of expression, including various types of emotions. The eyes, for instance, are the windows to our souls,” she said.
Hyperrealism, she said, is a genre of painting and sculpture that resemble a high-resolution photograph.
“My works are partially hyperrealist because they are rendered ‘incomplete’ but not ‘finished.’ My work currently explores concepts of an erasure of identity and are about the paradoxical perception between flawless physical beauty and blemishes (which have emerged as a result of the background),” she said.
Removed features
The on-going exhibition, which began with an official opening on April 11, features selected parts of a person’s visages.
“They are often not wholly completed. The ‘unfinished’ rendering of the paintings or the removal of features is an aspect that I am continuing to explore in my work.
“The removal of identity, or the emphasis on a certain communal feature which is present in the faces of all human beings, can be used to paint the face to highlight identity structures,” she said.
This young artist relates people with their vicissitudes and inner emotions, with an apparent ability to perceive their state of mind.
Which is perhaps why, she would sacrifice her hair on her 21st birthday next month, participating in the annual ‘Shave for a Cure’ campaign of the Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand (Indian Newslink, March 1, 2013).
Melodie said that her main sources of inspiration were the Renaissance Masters and the belief that Divine spirituality is inherent in all beings.
“My work is predominantly based on realist portraiture and aims to capture the essence of the subject I am painting,” she said.
Nursing her passion for painted portraits since her formative years, she has developed the ability to capture the likeness of a subject.
Painted Portraiture
“My practice has been focused on notion of painted portraiture and its place in contemporary art, paying attention to the concept of identity and a removal of identity in portraiture. I have recently become more focused on large scale hyperrealist portraits, which allow flexibility in my approach to painting,” Melodie said.
She described the exhibition as ‘work in progress,’ since it contains elements of realism but can be considered painterly, especially in rendering backgrounds.
The painting appearing along with this report contains the effect of colours on the facial identity of her chosen subject.
“I have shifted from using un-coloured grounds since I am intensely interested in the use of coloured grounds and their impact on the face,” Melodie said.
What: Exhibition of Hyperrealism Paintings
Who: Melodie Joseph
Where: 13 Totara Avenue, New Lynn, West Auckland
When: Monday to Friday from 10 am to 430 pm and Saturdays from 10 am to 3 pm
The Exhibition closes on May 4, 2013
