P H I L I P R O S S M U N R O
The Tell 2020
Hidden in the subtle vessels that populate our planet are oddities, secrets and truths of the species we most identify with: humans. These powerful beings secrete ‘tells’ in their motion, their speech or their form: there is always a unique ’Tell’. Tiny fragments or entire lifetimes ensconced within the individual soul may be unveiled in microseconds. It a joy, a blessing and sometimes a curse to experience the truths of inner workings laid-bare.
The new body of work presented here has it’s impetus in the current ‘Tell’ humanity finds itself mired in: there is a plethora of emotions documented in poses of strength, sorrow, reflection and humor; chronicles of time during the pandemic of 2020. As with other series of works by this artist there is a quasi-voyeuristic use of being witnessed or witnessing the unknown. Here, we find time scenes locked in and fractured behind plastic sheets: metaphors for the barriers and masks we now experience as a major part of our daily lives - the ‘Tell’!
'Vernissage' C Print on aluminum, 39 x 58", 2012
The Scotoma series 2010 -
"Whether spectacular in beauty or hideous in import, images and events before the eye are often unseen. Blindness is inherent in humans. The question of cause is: what is inherited or accidental; chosen, erred, denied or desired?"
Scotoma n. pl. sco·to·mas or sco·to·ma·ta
(Psychology) a mental blind spot; inability to understand or perceive certain matters An area of diminished vision within the visual field. [Medieval Latin from Greek skotōma giddiness, from skotoun to make dark, from skotos darkness]
This series, begun in 2010, is an ongoing production. These works find their conceptual origin in the News Series from the artist's production of the early 90's.
'Tribal Pair' mixed media on canvas, 32 x 49", 2012
The Shadow Series: 2012 -
Every culture and religion has addressed the 'Shadow' in some fashion or another; from sages to priests and philospophers to psychoanalysts the shadow has been used as tool and metaphor. Shadows are perhaps nebulous and unsung portraits of the soul, a distorted dance of the id or for some: nefarious, ominous emblems."
This new body of work echos the evolution found in Munro's Underwater Nude Series where earlier images bear direct compositional correlations to iconic archetypes and over time evolve in to a more intense and sophisticated investigation.
The News Series: 1990 -
This series incorporating collaged imagery from news events around the world was begun in 1990. It is revisited and continued in Munro's recent work: The 'Scotoma' Series.
The News Series has never been exhibited and works remain in the collection of the artist.
'The Cocaine Wars' mixed media, 22x30", 1990
The Kimono Series 2014 -
This body of work is a reflection on the use of 'labels'. We tend to think globally and as a result some words require elaboration else we make assumptions without pause. The actual word 'Kimono' translates to simply: 'wearing stuff' so labels are attached such as 'ceremonial' or other. In this series the subjects are asked to express themselves at will thereby defining their 'Kimono' and metaphorically their existence. Each individual expresses themselves in a unique fashion and every session reveals a unique inner self.
Melissa, C Print on Aluminum, 40x60, 2014