Blurring the boundaries of abstraction and figuration …
How do you describe your work and how has it evolved?
I work across a range of subject matter and paint applications. Until recently I’ve worked almost exclusively with oil on canvas. My practice blurs the edges between abstraction and figuration. I enjoy working with subject matters like flowers, casual still-life scenes, views through windows, seascapes and pure abstraction. However, the subject matter is not an end in itself, it’s almost a hook for me to explore the relationships between colours, lines, marks and surface and how they contribute to the mood or reading of the work. I like to create movement and energy within my pieces to keep the eye engaged, so there is a sense of presence and in-the-moment activity when looking at the work. I also want each piece to be its own world with its own set of criteria unique to itself.
The most recent evolution has been to incorporate collage into my work, whereby I tear up old and new paintings and stitch them together with new painted elements. As well as recycling old works, I’ve been collecting old jeans, rags and fruit netting and using them in the stitched pieces, creating a dichotomy between rough and fresh. This marks a change from a more fluid and intuitive painting process. I’ve enjoyed the challenge of seeing how the considerations within my painting get translated into this new medium.
What was the inspiration behind your new exhibition, Afternoon Pieces?
In a funny way, motherhood was the inspiration. I found that, upon returning to the studio after my son – time-stretched and energy deplete – I couldn’t engage with painting straight away; the brushes and oils were slightly panic-inducing! By accident, almost, I saw two paintings lying on top of each other and thought they would be good collaged together. I tore them up and began rearranging. I got a kick out of working out how to fit them to together, like arranging a puzzle. The process revived me and I felt energised to do more work. I decided to stitch them together as canvas lends itself so well to this process. I also come from a tradition of needlework (my sister is an embroidery artist, and my mum makes clothes and is engaged in craft), so it felt like a natural choice. I’m exhibiting paintings too as I have the urge to paint on canvas again. In some of the canvases, I revisited older compositions to interpret them in new ways.
Is there any significance to the title or its symbolism?
It refers to the odd times and hours I had to snatch to make work for the show while raising a young child, particularly in the early days, before creche and grandparents came to the rescue. I had to work periods during naptimes in the afternoon, which I found particularly strange as it’s a sluggish time of the day. It relates to the compromise of my new situation, readjusting to my changing circumstances.
How and where do you work?
I have a studio at home where I paint and work out my collages. My subject matter comes from a combination of areas. I draw from life to build up a bank of imagery to incorporate into my paintings, but I try to rely on the memory of them to create my work. It’s important to me that the process has a level of intuition and freedom to explore and change paths if I feel like it.
My work also feeds off the studio environment. It’s a messy space and I think that creates fertile ground for building connections between things. For example, a muddily coloured paint rag could by lying against a bright blue painting and that could give me ideas for the next piece. A piece of music I’m listening to might make me consider a certain pace or flow within a work. Much of my practice is about being alive to moments like this to propel the work forward. If I have a lot of stitchwork to do, I’ll retreat home and complete it there as I can be near my son if he’s up and about.
What do you particularly love about what you do?
The absorption, immersion, problem-solving and colour, colour, colour!
Need to know: Lesley-Ann O’Connell’s exhibition Afternoon Pieces is at the Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, Chancery Lane, Dublin 8 until June 28; www.kevinkavanagh.ie
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