Ochre
'Ochre'
A group show by members of
the Serpentine gallery.
On view from 28th of October
to the 10th of November 2015.
Opening night:
30th October 6-8pm
Ochre is a natural earth pigment containing hydrated iron oxide, ranging in color from red, orange, yellow or white to deep brown
and in its rarest form, blue.
It can be mixed with saliva, water, grease
or other binding substance to make paint,
and it is also the name of the colors
produced by this pigment,
especially a light brownish-yellow.
The need to make marks is a defining human trait.
Signs drawn in the sand are blown by the wind,
or washed clear by the tide.
Marks made with charcoal or ochre sometimes remain
and show us the stories of our ancestral beginnings;
the wisdom of our elders,
the evolution of our land and its creatures,
the history of its people,
and the journeys we make.
Whether we draw with damp pigments upon bodies in the sun,
or paint a canvas with bright colours or earthy ochre tones;
we express our relationship to land and country,
and each other.
It is a timeless ritual
and takes us into the very heart of what sacred is all about.
Connecting us to the spirit world,
ochre is the substance
that gives form to imagination and invention.
Image of a hand created with red ochre
in Pech Merle cave, France, c. 25,000 BC
Ochre pit in Yantruwanta country, South Australia.
Photo: koorihistory.com
In Aboriginal culture red ochre was significant
to desert people; it was the blood of the ancestors in colour and meaning
and was used ritualistically.
Because of its qualities both useful
and magical, it it was a valuable trade item.
Evidence of this commerce between tribes,
is seen in the range of ochre colours
to be found sometimes hundreds of kilometres from their original source.
Serpentine Community Gallery members unite this month to bring together the group show
'Ochre'
....in all its individual artistic interpretations.
'Ochre' as it has been since the dawn of humanity,
will be the starting point for our mark-making
and the means by which we allow our thoughts, dreams and yearnings to endure.
'Out Back Place'
oil on canvas by Scott Whittingham
'Leave Me Be'
acrylic on canvas by Susannah French
'Prunus spinosa sloe'
oil on canvas by Shaun C. Murphy
'The Camel'
acrylic on board by Philip Jones
'Swallowing Bird'
'The Bird'
'The Budgie'
'Yellow Breast Finch'
'The Fish'
'The Eagle'
'The Face'
'The Snakes'
acrylic on board artworks by Philip Jones
'Tearing the Sky Over Tuntable Creek'
oil on canvas by Shaun Murphy
'The T.P.'
acrylic on board by Philip Jones
'Pelican at Woody'
acrylic on canvas
by Susannah French
'All Is One, One Is All'
mixed media on canvas
by Kate Fernandes
'Violet Shell'
oil on board
by Susannah French
'Autumn Leaves'
by Felicity Gray
'Setting Sun'
mixed media on canvas by Kate Fernandes
