Sue Pickford - Artist Statement - Overview
Mythologies, Icons and Archetypes
The
broad aim of my art practice is to explore contemporary themes and ideas by
drawing on source material from the distant or recent past.
Historical references, both the personal and universal reveal connections between ancient and modern motivations that emphasise the cyclical nature of historical narrative and the inevitable swing between opposite forces, left and right, doxa and paradox, which endlessly create new paradigms.
Additionally it functions as a medium of self-identification in a search for a sense of artistic and human identity on three levels - personal, ‘tribal’ and universal - a search for disrupted cultural roots where historical migration has been a feature of personal ancestry.
Inevitably influenced by the philosophical and socio-political issues of my era, in relationship to place, race and culture and with a specific interest in social justice and equity issues, particularly pertaining to women and multiculturalism, I seek comprehension of the fundamental beliefs and ideologies that led our society to this point.
By researching and developing images, often through appropriation of iconology and cultural schemas, I use myths, archetypes, stereotypes and icons in order to highlight the universally common origins of the human species; of ancestors who through their myths and legends sought to construct and make sense of the world and the unknown –to create order amidst the chaos.
Historical references, both the personal and universal reveal connections between ancient and modern motivations that emphasise the cyclical nature of historical narrative and the inevitable swing between opposite forces, left and right, doxa and paradox, which endlessly create new paradigms.
Additionally it functions as a medium of self-identification in a search for a sense of artistic and human identity on three levels - personal, ‘tribal’ and universal - a search for disrupted cultural roots where historical migration has been a feature of personal ancestry.
Inevitably influenced by the philosophical and socio-political issues of my era, in relationship to place, race and culture and with a specific interest in social justice and equity issues, particularly pertaining to women and multiculturalism, I seek comprehension of the fundamental beliefs and ideologies that led our society to this point.
By researching and developing images, often through appropriation of iconology and cultural schemas, I use myths, archetypes, stereotypes and icons in order to highlight the universally common origins of the human species; of ancestors who through their myths and legends sought to construct and make sense of the world and the unknown –to create order amidst the chaos.
