The Lough V - Imagining Islands: Artists and Escape

‘The Lough V’ is one of a series of images produced by photographing in mist and fog so that the landscape subject becomes obscured. In this photograph a single tree is isolated in an expanse of water that surrounds it, so that the water acts as means of reflection, creating a doubling effect within the image. The sparseness of the bare tree depicted in winter, harnesses allegorical depictions of nature reminiscent of those found within European painting of the 17th - 19th centuries, where seasonal depictions of the landscape were used as visual metaphors for life, death, growth and decay. The dark silhouette of the tree also plays upon formal compositions found in early examples of traiditonal Japanese wood block printing. The subject’s muted atmosphere, which stems from its depiction in fog, lends the image a melancholic aspect that reflects its connection to the sublime and its sense of ‘dread and melancholy’ (Kant). This work, which was one of a series purchased by the Arts Council of England, was selected from their collection for inclusion in an exhibition at the Courtauld Institute in London in 2013, entitled, ‘Imagining Islands: Artists and Escape’. This exhibition brought together works from different periods of art history to explore artists' fascination with other worlds and the search for utopia, to consider the concept of the island. The exhibition included historical works by Paul Gauguin, Barbara Hepworth, John Everett Millais, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Charles Avery, as well as contemporary artists including Tacita Dean, Marc Quinn and Mariele Neudecker. Details: Work entitled, 'The Lough V’, colour lightjet photographic print, measuring 80 cm x 100 cm. Edition of three.