THE ARTIST IS STILL PRESENT

A lifetime’s journey of fascination with textiles, together with lure of the Japanese aesthetic, has led to this body of works. Traditional Japanese painting techniques and tools have been employed, including recycled Japanese kimonos textiles. Ester has used muslin, rather than rice paper, on which to paint the portraits. Muslin is semi-transparent, thus affording the viewer a glimpse of the textile onto which the portraits have been hand-stitched.

The portraits were painted in response to photos taken of participants in an exhibition held by Marina Abramovic, The Artist Is Present. The photos taken of the participants show a range of emotions, including being brought to tears. Ester’s intention was to capture the emotion and/or expression portrayed, rather than making a direct copy of the photographic image.

Viewers are encouraged to walk amongst the works, brushing them aside, in order to interact with installation.