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Image Credits: Courtesy of the artist.

Member's Gallery

Old Fashioned Romance For Modern Lovers / Inception

Artist

Elissa Barber + Rasham Ilyas

Exhibition Dates:

June 3, 2018

- June 30, 2018

Opening Reception:

June 8, 2018 7:00 pm

Through this body of work Old Fashioned Romance For Modern Lovers, I develop a narrative of classic, slow burning and achingly elegant romance. It serves as a reminder that there existed a time when one was woo’ed by their suitor, spent hours daydreaming about finding their true love and bringing flowers for your date was the norm.

I am inspired by classical themes and bring a contemporary perspective into my work through expressive line and minimal yet dynamic composition. Simple black, white and grey are at once old fashioned yet current while accents of gold reinforce the “golden era” notion. Originally gauche on paper or oil based monotype, these giclée prints layer behind reverse painted glass to create a multi-dimensional final image.

The topic of my paintings is Inception; I took the mother’s unparalleled level of love for her child from the very beginning by giving resemblance to another marvellous one of God’s creatures in a different colour. Considering this materialistic and selfish World, there is nothing parallel to the value of mother. In my work, I have shown the growth of a seed into a full trunk in a detailed form to specify life. If we look at the cycle of plant growth, there are certain factors involved in its growth. Just as strong roots denominate the healthy relationship of a plant, in the same manner the strong and true love affection of mother plays the vital role of connecting the new generation with the previous one and bringing it into the future.

“I love my mother as the tree loves water and sunshine – she help grow, prosper, and reach great heights.” – Terri Guillemets

Mother’s depth of care and capacity for bearing pain is endless. We should never let her down and take care of her in her time of need and stress. Islam, and almost all religions, enlighten the value of mother. Beyond religion, mother has core literary value.
I had gone through qualitative and quantitative research to get the full grip on my topic. In my images the roots, seed, trunk and flower, with high black, medium orange, green, light white and grey tones sharing an open and balanced composition, are used to symbolize the love of mother towards her child. Surface and optic texture has been used, along with crumbling paper, to portray the ignorance on the part of the child towards his mother.

The mother and child relationship has been illustrated through this artwork. The purpose of the work is to represent the value, love, energy, source of strength and importance of the mother for children, which is realized especially when apart. Her debt of positive energy cannot be paid back. Instead we should reciprocate with acts of kindness and politeness.

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