Autumn Exhibition

“Diaspora Vapor” is a collection of works which aims to further the research, experiments and ideas initially explored in “Dyfed Forests”.

By working in monochrome, I assess and manipulate mixed media to create an image that concerns the concept of space and distance, balanced by paths within macro-micro compositions inspired by the landscape. By utilizing tone in a minimalist colour palette I create shapes reminiscent of mountains, trees, and waterfalls: all of which are primary motifs of Chinese and Japanese images of nature.

 

The concept of diaspora has appeared frequently in my research and recently became apparent during my move to Cambridge from Wales. The sensation of feeling mixed by experiencing a change in landscape or settlement has affected artists for generations: from the movements within the Asuka and Nara periods in Japan to late 20th century China, the innate and somewhat “caveman” instinct to long for one’s homeland resonates with me. Having recently moved from Wales – a landscape surrounded by mountains and sea – to Cambridge in South England, it has been quite the contrast: the landscape is flat for miles, we are surrounded by marshland and rivers, with record-breaking high temperatures penetrating the shade from abundant forests.

 

During this resettlement process, I have attempted to capture the nature of diaspora, the feelings it inspires and causes: negative and positive connotations which balance within a composition in an abstract space containing remnants of the Welsh landscape prints, Chinese calligraphy, the Japanese’s sense of distance, and the metropolitan atmosphere of Cambridge and its forests. By capturing the essence of a memory, the choices we make, and the paths we choose, literally and figuratively, I hope to inspire viewers to enter into the landscapes I have created and feel like they are following or beginning a journey themselves.

Molly Cawthorn