I’d like to talk about portraits of two young women- an unusual subject matter for me. Imagine them to be life size on door-sized sheets of hand made indian paper. I made them prompted by my personal circumstances and by the challenge of making work to mark the Bicentenary of Bournemouth.
One is of a marble statue by an unknown sculptor (1850- 1900) called THE RECEPTION in The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum collection- so I suppose it isn’t strictly a portrait but I like to think it is.
This statue of a gorgeous young woman stepping out – it seems to me- for a reception- her head lowered- body projecting forward- with her pearl-decked bun and pinched waist, a lace-edged long dress and dance card/fan in her left hand. I am attracted to her because I am the mother of a beautiful young woman (who has just completed GCSEs) and who preparing for her ‘Prom’ in Bournemouth. Evie, my daughter, is in the same pose with her messy bun and iPod in her left hand, lace tights and short skirt. I use paper doilies (because I associate them with receptions and to indicate lace ruff and trim and tights) and white marble dust (which glitters most beautifully) to link the drawings with each other and with the marble of the statue.
I think about my lovely Evie stepping out as a young woman in present day Bournemouth and I wish her well. The hours I spent drawing Evie were so special. Both young women are stepping out from the confines of plinth and home. They are linked by the materials, youth and gender and represent young people ‘stepping out’ in Bournemouth over the last 200 years.
My contribution to the Bournemouth Bicentenary can be seen in Views of Bournemouth at The Russell- Cotes Art Gallery and Museum until October 2010.