April 2, 2008
O3 gallery displays work from a group of artists who act as story-tellers through the genre of illustration. Some of the images come with text so the viewer can drift effortlessly into the tale. ‘Every morning the Queen likes nothing better than to start the day by firing one of her foot soldiers from a cannon’, are words accompanying work by Mario Coelho. Using a comic strip layout with a hint of Japanese graphic design influence Coelho illustrates, ‘There is a Hole in My Pocket’. Korky Paul describes in intimate detail what is secretly known to be true.
‘The Dog Who Could Dig’ is busy unearthing the cornucopia of tin cans and engine parts that surely must lie beneath the garden dirt. ‘Captain Teachum’s Buried Treasure’ shows that mystical destination that lies beyond the distance one has already travelled. A mysterious midnight purple sky meets a wickedly watery blue sea in a far off land yet to be explored. Sue Mynall uses telling details in ‘Blackberrying’, such as a child’s apron pockets overflowing with juicy fruit, so the viewer almost smells the smoky zest in her nostalgic landscape.
Walking alongside the open pages displayed above the winding staircase the visitor is taken to more challenging work carrying on with the theme of crossing boundaries between art and literature. Ros Rixon’s technique of encasing shreds of classical texts in lead crystal balls sees through the seminal reputation of classic texts. ‘Retrospect’ uses chopped up pieces of a 1937 book inside a hand blown bowl. The glass, like the text, is recycled. And while the glass is transparent and still functioning the text now says something random and new. It cannot be put back together without breaking the glass and the miracle of a random gust of wind rearranging each piece. ‘Retrospect’ puts the book out of reach.
‘Your Writing Will Last a Thousand Autumns’ by Lucy Baxandall consists of a book with its pages stuck together by a gummy yellow almost transparent substance that looks like glue that cannot decide whether it wants to set.
Pale, primary, nursery-perfect colour tones of Joanna Walsh’s Giclee prints of mixed media artwork takes us to bed time. ‘All Babies? Small babies. (All Asleep)’ shows the idyllic environ for story telling and so the viewer drifts back into the outside world, all stories having been told. Ironically, ‘Tell Me A Picture’ is a show linked with the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival, for each picture is worth a thousand words.
‘The Dog Who Could Dig’ is busy unearthing the cornucopia of tin cans and engine parts that surely must lie beneath the garden dirt. ‘Captain Teachum’s Buried Treasure’ shows that mystical destination that lies beyond the distance one has already travelled. A mysterious midnight purple sky meets a wickedly watery blue sea in a far off land yet to be explored. Sue Mynall uses telling details in ‘Blackberrying’, such as a child’s apron pockets overflowing with juicy fruit, so the viewer almost smells the smoky zest in her nostalgic landscape.
Walking alongside the open pages displayed above the winding staircase the visitor is taken to more challenging work carrying on with the theme of crossing boundaries between art and literature. Ros Rixon’s technique of encasing shreds of classical texts in lead crystal balls sees through the seminal reputation of classic texts. ‘Retrospect’ uses chopped up pieces of a 1937 book inside a hand blown bowl. The glass, like the text, is recycled. And while the glass is transparent and still functioning the text now says something random and new. It cannot be put back together without breaking the glass and the miracle of a random gust of wind rearranging each piece. ‘Retrospect’ puts the book out of reach.
‘Your Writing Will Last a Thousand Autumns’ by Lucy Baxandall consists of a book with its pages stuck together by a gummy yellow almost transparent substance that looks like glue that cannot decide whether it wants to set.
Pale, primary, nursery-perfect colour tones of Joanna Walsh’s Giclee prints of mixed media artwork takes us to bed time. ‘All Babies? Small babies. (All Asleep)’ shows the idyllic environ for story telling and so the viewer drifts back into the outside world, all stories having been told. Ironically, ‘Tell Me A Picture’ is a show linked with the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival, for each picture is worth a thousand words.