SALA Festival July 31- September 30 2020

Wendy Dixon-Whiley: Full Circle 1.0

Exhibition Opening Saturday August 1 at 2 pm

“The 20 drawings shown here are a natural conclusion of a body of work that commenced at a 2019 Arts Residency at La Macina Di San Cresci in Tuscany, Italy. The purpose of this residency was to continue my study of the classic poem ‘Inferno’ by the famous 13th century Tuscan; Dante Alighieri.

It was the aim of my time in Italy to be in the proximity of the famous poet whose writing was the ‘muse’ that guided me back to making art. Rather than aiming for a direct narrative representation of Dante’s famous circles of Hell, I chose to interrogate the bodily nature of each sin depicted within ‘Inferno’. In making the images I take ideas from my own imagination and tie them in to the time and place in which I commenced the body of work.

Throughout my research prior to and during the residency, I found a consistent theme whereby monotheistic religions viewed specific body parts as responsible for committing affiliated sins (for example; tongues committing blasphemy). I have used this idea as an alternative mode of expression of the narrative and in this way, the images become physical manifestations of the sins the body commits.

In my depiction of mildly comedic yet grotesque figures as vehicles for my ideas, I am attempting to domesticate a subject matter which would normally be taken as frightening and serious. In this way I am also sublimating my own thoughts and experiences with organised religion”

ARTISTS TALKS SALA FESTIVAL 2020

ED DOUGLAS AND WENDY DIXON-WHILEY

SUNDAY AUGUST 9 AT 2 PM bookings essential

Please join us as we celebrate the SALA Festival at the Hahndorf Academy with exhibiting artists Ed Douglas and Wendy Dixon-Whiley.