Eros an exhibition catalogue artworks by Mandy Conidaris
…as a sweet apple turns red on a high branch, high on the highest branch, and the apple pickers forgot – well, no, they didn’t forget – were not able to reach … Sappho, 7th century BC Fragment 105a
From the Eros series
Artist’s statement Anne Carson (1986) describes this poetry fragment of Sappho as representing the essence of eros – desire never fulfilled - and in cultural mythology the apple is often associated with desire, most notably in the Adam and Eve Creation story.
From the Eros series
This body of work was triggered when I discovered the above poem fragment during other research. I cut an apple in half and explored its inner core in detail with a magnifying glass. Subsequent photographs and sketches of the bisected apple resulted in the three series of monotype prints: Eros essence, Eros contained and Eros released. The magnification of the inner structure of the apple echoes similar shapes within shapes and speaks of the layers deeply hidden within emotions that are both strong but unfulfilled. The watercolour wash monotype technique is in part uncontrollable, resulting in unpredictable results.
With MRI imaging technology we can look deep into the structures of the brain. We can imagine our emotional core. Within the brain lies a collection of blood vessels known as the Circle of Willis, which has been described by social psychologist Diarmuid O’Murchu as one of the “sacred spaces in nature”. I appropriated the pattern of the Circle of Willis, as seen on an MRI scan, as a symbol for desire, or eros. I over-printed the monotype series Eros contained with a tightly boxed image of the Circle of Willis symbol, and then the series Eros released with an open image of the Circle of Willis symbol, with the vessels extending.
From the Eros contained series
From the Eros released series
Pimpernel Wallpaper design by Morris
William
.
At the time, I was researching William Morris and was immersed in his wallpaper designs. I particularly liked the pattern Pimpernel
The intricate details of the human brain revealed by MRI technology is reminiscent of the way the patterns of the late 19th century had been inspired in part by the hidden patterns in nature discovered by the new microscope technology of the time.
Detail from the Quantum Attraction installation
I decided to appropriate the design, using a cross section of the brain – at the point of the appearance of the Circle of Willis on an MRI scan - in place of the flower, and the pattern of the Circle of Willis symbol in three scales to mimic the stems and leaves.
Quantum Attraction (detail) Wallpaper2008 screenprintedinstallationonblack paper Room size approx 3m x 4m Edition of 150 (destroyed)
The 150 prints were destroyed in the process of uninstalling the exhibition.
This understanding prompted my complete room wallpaper installation, Quantum Attraction, an empty room wallpapered with 150 of these screenprints. I used black paper to create the sense of entering a small, private space, like a cave. Wallpaper often becomes an unnoticed visual backdrop to our lives, but here the viewer had was no choice but to notice it. The experience provoked diverse feelings, but mainly of discomfort and/or contemplation.
from the Quantum Attraction installation
Detail
Detail from the Quantum Attraction installation
The twin prints Quantum Eros and Quantum Chaos are the same image screenprinted on both white and black paper in small editions. These ‘memories’ of the installation represent the light and shadow aspects of eros.
Quantum Eros Screenprint2008 on white Editionpaper of 15 70 x 100 cm
Quantum Chaos Screenprint2008 on black Editionpaper of 15 70 x 100 cm
A space must be maintained or desire ends. Carson
Anne
Eros essence I Watercolour2008 monotype Image size 30 x 30 cm Eros essence II Watercolour2008 monotype Image size 30 x 30 cm Eros essence III Watercolour2008 monotype Image size 30 x 30 cm
Eros essence IV Watercolour2008 monotype Image size 30 x 30 cm Eros essence V Watercolour2008 monotype Image size 30 x 30 cm Eros essence VI Watercolour2008 monotype Image size 30 x 30 cm
Eros contained I Watercolour2008 monotype with Imagescreenprintsize30x30 cm Eros contained II Watercolour2008 monotype with Imagescreenprintsize30x30 cm
Eros contained III Watercolour2008 monotype with Imagescreenprintsize30x30 cm Eros contained IV Watercolour2008 monotype with Imagescreenprintsize30x30 cm
Eros released I Watercolour2008 monotype with Imagescreenprintsize30x30 cm Eros released II Watercolour2008 monotype with Imagescreenprintsize30x30 cm
Eros released III Watercolour2008 monotype Image size 30 x 30 cm Eros released IV Watercolour2008 monotype Image size 30 x 30 cm Eros released V Watercolour2008 monotype Image size 30 x 30 cm
This was a small work I created from cutting down some experimental prints. I screenprinted the full poem and had them bound in a loose folder. I made an edition of three, sold one at the exhibition, gifted one, and kept one for myself.
Portfolio Fragments (cover) Print2008 portfolio of watercolour monotypes with screenprinted text in black bound (Folderfolder created by Peter Carstens) Edition of 3 A5
Fragments portfolio Page 1
Exhibited at Fried Gallery, Pretoria, 2008 Catalogue & copywriting by Mandy Conidaris
Eros was my contribution to the duo exhibition Parallel Universes with artist Cheryl Gage
O’Murchu, D. 2004. Quantum Theology. The Crossroad Publishing Company: New York
Acknowledgements
O’Murch, D. 2007. The Transformation of Desire. Darton, Longman & Todd: London.
The following sources were used to research and inspire my theme: Carson, Anne 1986. Eros the Bittersweet. Princeton University Press, Princeton. Gamwell, L. 2002. Exploring the Invisible: Art, Science and the Spiritual. Princeton University Press: Princeton, New Jersey.