Small Jewels

NSA member Yolande Armstrong will be showing new work in an exhibition of her paintings at Daisy Laing Gallery, Old Bakehouse Lane, Chapel Street in Penzance, opening on 12th March.

Yolande describes the thinking and the process behind the work:

Women have been, and still are, silenced in many ways in cultures across the globe – expected to be quiet and reticent and to behave acceptably. But women, like other marginalised groups, have also used silence and body language as a way of creating communication and of rebelling. These paintings celebrate the possibilities of a rich ferment of thoughts, feelings, emotions and potential for action behind the signalling which women present to the world.

The work is based on a collection of photographs made over many years, some taken by me, some shared by others. While a photographic image is a fleeting moment captured by mechanical means, translating a photograph into painting is a tactile process using human skills and physical materials to make marks and meaning over a period of time.

The nature of painting has enabled me to explore posture, gesture, positioning of figures and historical and social context, and to suggest through the use of paint medium new layers of meaning, interesting resonances. The flaws, or peculiarities which we might now quickly delete in digital images, are often rich and suggestive…

The show runs until 1st April and the gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday, plus Easter Sunday and Monday.