LONDON.- Scream and British fashion designer Matthew Williamson 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 partnered with Matthew Williamson who has been inspired by McAdamsʼ work - the two collaborated in print design for Williamsonʼs Summer 2013 collection which was received with great acclaim. Like both artists, Williamson often takes elements from nature as a basis to develop designs, his Autumn 2013 collection also encompasses the organic, delicate intricacies of tree branches silhouetted in print that are echoed in the paper works by Caroline Jane Harris.
“Shane McAdamsʼ multi-toned colour saturation and the luminous qualities of his work caught my eye immediately, but thereʼs also the element of the fantastical in his pieces that I love. The hyper-real landscapes are so alluring, yet divorced from reality. I often play with the juxtaposition of the organic and the synthetic in my own work so this resonated with me”. --MATTHEW WILLIAMSON
The fusion of art, fashion and nature provides a rich context to present the work of these two promising emerging artists.
Caroline Jane Harris explores the complexities 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 natureʼs 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 selected as a finalist 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 ink, 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 Elmerʼs glue, McAdams pushes the limits of these materials to create utopian and idealised images. In the Synthetic Landscape series McAdamsʼ skilled painting and draughtsmanship is evident. McAdamʼs 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 ʻportalsʼ create an intriguing tension between the natural and the synthetic, the real and the imagined. The artist states “Iʼve 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; McAdamsʼ 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 artistʼs hand. The use of layers to reinforce this idea is adopted by both artists. McAdams builds up layers of paint, resin and ink whereas Harris uses the lattice-like compositions to create depth and shadows where the lines reverberate and almost take on a life of their own, beyond the picture plane.
