Nerina Lascelles: 'Seizui - Essence'

Sunday, January 1, 2012

'Seizui - Essence' - Montsalvat

SEIZUI6 - 8pm Thursday 1st September 2011Exhibition runs until October 2nd

In September 2011 I was simply delighted to have had the opportunity to exhibit a completely new exhibition of paintings at Montsalvat.

Lying down on my back
the Spring sunshine
filled my mouth
SEIBI

The title of this exhibition ‘Seizui’ (Japanese for ‘Essence’)
Each of the 14 works in this exhibition have been inspired after the reading and contemplation of a series of Haiku poems by the Japanese masters. For each poem chosen, I have endeavoured to extract the ‘essence’ and bring the inherent imagery to life through a visual interpretation.
The haiku is an evocative Japanese verse, which embodies a direct intuitive penetration into nature, and life, which offers insight, joy and truth to readers. A simple verse encapsulates a multi-sensory experience of one’s environment.
In the case of Zen Haiku, language becomes a painting, a drawing, a story, a song. Form and formless melt together, so that the poem is experienced, the reader may enter a timeless moment- a space of stillness or meditation. When contemplating the haiku, a deeper presence of life and nature maybe felt beneath the human mental and physical constructs of form.

Lightening flash
flying toward the darkness
heron's voice
BASHO

Through the combination of both Haiku and painting, traditionally termed ‘Haiga’ the aim is to invite the viewer to perhaps experience a similar ‘timeless moment’ or to experience a ‘deeper presence of life’
Japanese masters such as Basho, Issa, Shikki and Buson, have written countless haiku poems portraying their experience of nature and life in Japan. And similarly, monks and artists of ancient Japan painted with a poetic reverence beautiful depictions of their natural world; the seasons, flora and fauna.

After having been living at Dunmoochin for over a year now, one simply cannot help being influenced by the beauty and magic of the Australian bush which encouraged my to translate some of these Japanese haiku using imagery which is more local to this region; including red box and long leaf box eucalypts.