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Keeping it unreal WIMBLEDON BORN AND BRED ARTIST JOSEPHINE LYONS TALKS TO KATY JARRATT ABOUT MEMORIES, MANUSCRIPTS AND MAKING PEOPLE FRUSTRATED
scar Wilde said that ‘life imitates art.’ In Josephine Lyons’ case, it is most definitely the other way around. Or – as I’m sure she would probably insist – an ever perpetuating circle of life imitating art imitating life. The London artist and oil painter, now coming-of-age, appears to be on the verge of something transformative. I expect if you’d asked her at the age of three, she would’ve also told you she was on the verge of something transformative, but that it would take 26 years for the rest of the world to ‘get it.’ This determined attitude is the epitome of her life and work. Integrity and singleminded dedication to a goal can take you a long way if you have it, and luckily, she does. Having seen a preview of her latest exhibition, I can say it is good because it is unique, both in its format and its content. It is called ‘Love in Palimpsests – Memories of Imagination’ and it will be displayed at The Mernier Gallery, London Bridge from 11-22 December. Palimpsests, if you don’t already know, are ancient manuscripts where the text has been rubbed off and written-on again. Lyons uses this metaphor as an artistic exploration of her own life – and other’s lives – in a series of books which show different stages of human reflection on history, circumstances, memories, or anything which holds a place in time. The conceptual explorations within the books are manifested in the works of art on the walls too and the books presented as the ‘working out’ of those conclusions. The format and terminology for the exhibition is vague and abstract for a reason and it’s not to be pedantic. Lyons is ‘big’ on viewer participation and she encourages the viewer to find their own version of meaning within the paintings. I suspect the idea is that nothing should be completely harnessed or fully interpreted, that the mystery is half the fun. If you are the type of person who enjoys this sort of existential egg hunt, then you will love her work. Those who are strictly black and white, might get frustrated. Getting this divisive reaction is – I’m sure – what she thrives on. Her works are filled with traces of her own childhood and upbringing – glimpses of ageless characters who have the same flame-red hair as she does – who are her, but not quite. The paintings are titled in long, meandering sentences like ‘to recreate another life but safe and precious,’ a choice which is at first baffling because it is simple and childlike, but quite often you find it has a more complex meaning underneath. But for all this, she does not appear pretentious; she just wants to communicate her meaning as widely as possible, through illustrating
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19/11/2012 20:01