Karl Shoobridge Etymologies
3rd - 9th March 2025
Etymology: the origin of a word and the historical development of its meaning
A series of paintings using the metaphor of histories, evolutions and meanings.
Words are spoken and sometimes written. These painted forms consistofdelineatingblocksofcolourandtheirrepetitionswithin.
Moving lefttorightthroughchronologicaltime, highsandlowsof hierarchies, we see similar types of compositions. The same syllables, lyrical and repeated. A form may not have a lineage however, repeated sufficiently, harmonies and a greater whole emerge.
Our cognition process quickly delineates the foreign from the familiar. If we speak a word enough times it dissolves into a phonetic exercise- it becomes something new. Our cognitive brain feelssafewiththeserepetitionsupuntilapoint.
Havingpreviously livedinMexico,CubaandFranceIwasalways intrigued by the commonalities between English, Spanish and French. Many phrases exist autonomously but when experienced in the context of the broader language and culture, they become succinct. We try to express ourselves within our vocabularies via inflections, tonal variations and pronunciations. These personal signifierswithinoursharedvocabulariescreatetheunique.
In these works I’ve chosen to use aerosol enamels and airbrushedacrylics,whicharebothunforgiving,yetyield serendipitous results. Embracing unexpected imperfections and trying to control them, creates an ongoingtension.
Some paintings contain gestures- yet not always the same.Somehavebeenpaintedwithinastencilorusinga paintbrush: a decree imposing its arbitrary authority. There are hard lines pitted against the gesture of individuality. There are freedoms overlaid with constraints.
Externally the packages are contained by positive white spaces suggesting boundaries and allowing for comparisons. The painted rhythmic slivers are akin to repeated syllables or phrases- coalescing to form a new image. Repetition may create abstraction yet, repeated enough, may also create a new kind of structure- an orderedchaos.
Thedifferent,nowhasachancetobecomefamiliar.
So
It