(Work
by Lee Scott-Hempson on the exhibition)
Art connoisseurs can enjoy a visual feast
of formats that are both beautiful and quirky to the eye during the Fusion- roots and routes art exhibition
by Lee Scott-Hempson, a Lecturer in Fashion and Textiles Department at the Durban
University of Technology (DUT). The exhibition is running at Durban’s artSPACE
Gallery.
Scott Hempson teaches drawing and
illustration as well as printing technologies, also supervising post graduate
students in DUT’s Fashion and Textiles Department. Speaking about this
exhibition, she said it represents the fusion of her various personas; that of
the fine artist, lecturer, social and eco-sensitive being which make her craft
rich in imagery.
“The ‘routes’ I have taken to get to this
here and now, added to the acknowledgment that my ‘roots’ colour my perceptions
of everything I experience, has directed my creative inspiration, identity and
individuality. The inspiration for this particular body of work comes from a
series of accidental collages. I was cutting out images from magazines for an
inspiration or mood board for a teaching project and happened to look at the
other side of the cut out image and liked what I saw. This little act has inspired
a number of notions or concepts. The singular collages than ensued have become
metaphors for the integration of my wholeness. By wholeness I allude to seeing
myself as a series of personas – that of the artist, teacher, fashion voyeur,
eco-sensitive and immigrant,” she said.
Scott Hempson’s latest body of work, mainly
done on wood, mostly consists of a series of silhouettes or cut-outs that are
linked by a deliberate palette reminiscent of the dusty tones of the lowveld
bush and bloody sunsets. The cut-outs reflect Scott Hempson’s fashion drawing
and illustration interests, her appreciation of textile details,
eco-sensibilities and bush ‘roots’ having grown up on a farm.
“I like to mix my media,” she says. “In
this body of work, I have created a series of figurative ‘cut-outs’ on which I
have painted in acrylic. Using acrylic paints for these paintings has suited
the textural quality I hoped to achieve. I also enjoy the physical act of
creating and cutting the wood to suit my purpose.
Scott Hempson said some of the pieces will
delight, some will challenge perceptions of beauty and identity while some
might even evoke certain personal nostalgies. “I wish for people to walk away
with a smile in their hearts,” she said.
Fusion-
roots and routes runs until March 22 at artSPACE
Gallery 3 Millar Road, Durban. For more information contact Lee Scott-Hempson
on: 072 246 6085 / (031) 373 3716 or email: lees@dut.ac.za
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