Curator's Note: I wrote this in April but was never able to find the time to edit it. The exhibit ended on May 11. So here is my statement on the exhibit and also at the end a wonderful link to Simone's video of the show.
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Simone Paterson's exhibit Diametric has been on display at Perspective Gallery for nearly two months. During this time we have had over 2000 visitors and much time as observers to ponder the images.
The title, Diametric, reflects Simone's interest in human interactions within the environment. In Paterson's own words:
Ms. Paterson's capabilities to span media and "blur boundaries between art, craft and digital reproduction" is paramount to understanding this exhibit. Even in art our methods must be netted together and not diametrically opposed. Everything, everything is connected. Two monitors explore this concept further; one with Ms. Paterson's new home landscape, Virginia as the subject matter; and the other with her birthplace landscape, Australia as subject. Many times as I walked through the exhibit, I stopped to ponder my movements as my white ghostly image moved across a montage of landscape in the large screen monitors. Our ghostly selves are visual remnants, blocking out and replacing the landscape beyond while revealing a hidden text which is makes me think of a fortune wrapped inside of a cookie.
Simone Paterson Digital Image Jellyfish
Ghost images appear throughout this exhibit. The full entry window to the gallery displays the image above- Jellyfish-ghost-like in their presence. The jellyfish images keep us from seeing directly into the gallery, protecting what is within. They greet visitors to the exhibit before they even enter-a veil partially concealing the surprise of the interior, keeping things safe.
Once inside of the gallery, mirror-image landscape photos of Virginia and Australia are printed on satin and adorn the walls. All create uncertainty of what we are really seeing-as the reverse images initially confuse the viewer and require a further look into what they are actually seeing. Within the photos are ghost images hiding in the nooks and crannies of the kaleidoscopic terrains. Women, faces, undulations, gremlins.
Skinny White Girl Simone Paterson Mixed Media
And as I move through the exhibit, it is the sculptures that really connect the dots for me. The dresses appear empty and aching, perhaps waiting for a deep and abiding understanding to fill the void. A metaphor for our struggling Earth Mother who is on the brink, hoping for its human inhabitants to remove their veils before she is gone.
See more on this exhibit by visiting Simone's video: http://vimeo.com/68389180
Robin Scully Boucher
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