Nature is stronger than the strongest man and there is no going against it. It finds its way into his imagination via all his senses; it becomes part of his spirit, and then, with great care and sensitivity, it may be brought back again by hand into the visible world and somehow recognised.’ Christopher Neve
‘East of the Sun and West of the Moon’,
A group exhibition of works by Nooka Shepherd, Ella Garvey and Simona Orentaite.
1st - 25th of February 2023
The title of the show takes its name from a Norwegian fairy tale in which a young woman embarks on a quest to find her prince in the intangible place that is east of the sun and west of the moon. It depicts a world in which there is a casual intermingling of actuality and the supernatural, populated by winds that have voices and chimerical creatures. In this exhibition, it refers to the displacement of reality in celebration of fantasy, myth, folklore and the richness of the subconscious imagination as a source of inspiration. It embodies Nooka, Simona and Ella’s relationship to an enchanted version of nature culminating in works which can be viewed in the tradition of a spiritual ecology. Their work alludes an inherited nexus of animated consciousness and encourages a recognition of the numinous and mystical qualities within the organic world.‘East of the Sun and West of the Moon’ is a multidisciplinary exhibition which showcases painting alongside ceramics, drawings and puppets. It culminates in an exquisite corpse, a work of their own mythical confection.
Simona accesses the otherworldly through the act of painting. Instead of rigidly planning each piece, she works spontaneously and meditatively in a process that speaks to the fluidity of her final pieces. Her working method relies on intuition and, much like an archaeologist, she unearths forms as they appear on the canvas. Reminiscent of Carl Jung’s school of psychology, Simona’s figures and forms seem to emerge from the collective unconscious and inspired by his writings on dreams, Simona’s style encourages the viewer to adopt a slow and considered approach to looking. The a process becomes reminiscent of dream analysis in the discernment of form and unravelling of meanings. Her figures and forms are symbolic and archetypal as opposed to realistic and rigid, capturing the intangible nature of dreams. In ‘East of the Sun and West of the Moon,’ Simona demonstrates painting’s capacity to act as a conduit between her own psyche and broader universal truths.
In both her paintings and drawings, Ella blends myth/reality and interior/exterior as a way of simulating and understanding dreams as well as her own subconscious. In her oeuvre, she draws upon a more codified language of symbolism, especially that which relates to femininity, romance and love. Ella’s drawings are reminiscent of the ‘wonder cabinet’ tradition, evolving throughout the 16th century and beyond to reflect the fascination towards particular objects by their owners whilst also being microcosms of the wider world. With her experimentation in space and illusion, the objects featured in Ella’s drawings illustrate to her own narratives as well as broader truths. The ubiquity of shells in her work for example, signify fertility and femininity as well as strength and safety whilst meticulously rendered locks of hair recall the Victorian tradition of exchanging love tokens. Ella is also inspired by folklore and its representation of harmony between man and nature. Her different sources amalgamate in works that simulate dreams, where seemingly unconnected images and moments appear.
Nooka’s body of work displays the meeting of inner and outer landscapes whilst also showing a concern for the realms of myth, folklore and fairytales. Their multidisciplinary pieces illustrate a harmony between a perception of ourselves as individual as also part of a greater ‘web of life.’ Their puppets are creatures with both human and animal features whilst being crafted from organic materials such as wood and salt dough. They draw on symbolism from the folklore of the British isles to create objects which become votive and animistic items and which encourage a dialogue between the viewer and the earth, Their objects, following in the tradition of talismans, amulets and charms, are often small and intimate, inviting the viewer to touch or wear them, once again creating an intimacy with the organic. Nooka is also drawn to more personal environments and how these might be influenced by the landscapes we situate ourselves in. Their oeuvre in ‘East of the Sun and West of the Moon’ provide a variety of avenues to lead us back to a more pensive communication with the land.
