Collective Actions

Persistent Silence: Proposal


We normally use the term Silence in reference to sound, often to explain a lack of, or inactivity, in sound. If we were to think of silence with regards to the human mind and consciousness, this could translate into finding Silence in the mind at rest.

I plan to explore the idea of abstract images when the mind is at rest, producing an installation that represents a specific subconscious image during the moments before sleep. The piece will consist of a series of paintings and an animation that will explore the links between memory and physical representation.

When I was younger, I sometimes pictured a moving white image as I lay in bed. It was a white/grey surface that changed from rough and raggedy, to smooth.

I hope to transform this internal image into an external representation, making it open to interpretation from an audience. The work will be presented in the form of a series of abstract paintings representing the white surface in the image. My process of working will be key to the piece and I will allow a good deal of experimentation into colour and mark-making before selecting each painting. To accompany this, a monitor will loop a simple animation of the series of paintings, each image merging into another, to convey the movement of the white surface.

I view the series of paintings as an initial exploration into forming a representation of my subconscious memory. As a result, the concluding animation will convey the memory itself. I am interested in recreating the sense of ambiguity that I feel when remembering this abstract image of my childhood, in turn I aim to draw the audience into my subconscious.

Andrée Latham