I am interested in painting that engages the materiality of paint and other materials where meaning and form are fused. Themes include repetition, pattern and the grid. My painting came to explore process driven abstraction underpinned by more philosophical concerns and inspired by Buddhist thought. Around 2011 my work shifted from figuration to abstraction as I sought a more oblique language to engage the network of emerging ideas, where the identity politics of the 1980s and 90s became disrupted and more layered. Study of Washing at the Water, watercolour on paper, 1990 Artistic journeyįollowing this period I spent some years in Berlin, where I continued to make use of painting and collage to explore my relationship to the history of Western Europe, and then returned to London in 1999. Cloth has always been laden with meaning for me. They spoke of life, love, labour, intimacy, community, and toil. They seemed to fly like kites, spectacular dreams. This small water colour study, made in the same year as Conversations, is painted from a vivid memory of seeing cloth drying on the trees around water, where women had washed them and laid them out to dry. Alice Walker’s poetry collection, Once, in which she recollects her visit to East Africa, was a touchstone in this process.
On my return to Liverpool in 1990, I recalled the kaleidoscopic images etched in my memory and explored my relationship with the African continent. The paint and collage veer on abstraction, anticipating that shift in my language.Ĭonversations, acrylic and collage on paper, 1990 The motifs of sky, earth, tree, pot, cloth, pattern and the walking figure are still relevant in my practice today, though the formal language has transformed and their symbolic value has become more layered. It was made shortly after a transformative visit to Nigeria, where I spent some weeks travelling and visiting Nigerian artists in their studios and homes. The title, Conversations, is a reference to the personal and political discourses of the African Diaspora. In this blog I look back at the piece, Conversations, that Liverpool University acquired over thirty years ago and trace the trajectory to my current practice. Learn about the artist and what inspired her work over the years. Right Image - Study of Washing at the Water, watercolour on paper, 1990Īrtist Dionne Sparks revisits her collage-based work on paper, Conversations, acquired for the University of Liverpool’s collection in 1990 and traces the trajectory of her work from then to her current practice. In 2021 Left image - Conversations, acrylic and collage on paper, 1990. On this day in 1815 - The Battle of Waterloo changed the course of European History.The New Woman at University College Liverpool.Adrian Scott Stokes – Traveller Towards Light.Manifesto: The second-best Grand National horse ever!.Stranger Loves: a Brief History of LGBTQ+ Science Fiction.
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