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Artist or Maker: GERALDINE JAVIER (b. The Philippines 1970)
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Notes: The absurdity of being is a testament to Geraldine's eerily exquisite works and her unique sense of handling paint both freely and expressively. With an astute use of colour, Javier is able to suggest the most sensitive subtleties of form and texture, making them almost palpable. Her simple compositions are brought to life with the addition of a few sweeps of the brush to lighten or darken, bringing added volume and much depth to her work. Her use of colour and light enhance her brilliant sense of form; albeit dark and sombre at times. The images created are soft but defined and exist in a mysterious and almost mythological realm.
This particular work is from a series of works which were inspired by scenes of movies and advertisements in popular magazines. When asked how she came about this unusual positioning of the figure, Geraldine explains "while working on a concept for a show with 'Alice in Wonderland' as the theme, I was at the same time casually leafing through a fashion magazine wondering at the incongruity of the model's pose. Does life really mimic art or is it the other way around? Then I got to this page where there is a nice photo of actress Leelee Sobieski with her head resting on a carpeted floor while her legs were propped up on the chair's backrest. Attempting to make 'things right' - sort of, I turned the image upside down and cropped the head part. It dawned on me that it's just like Alice falling through the ceiling!" (Artist's statement March 2007)
Alice is flipped upside down, her short white skirt clinging to her body. She is seen from a lower viewpoint, dangling from the ground which now acts as the ceiling. Geraldine heightens the drama in this scene with her use of lighting. We see that the light source is from the bottom right of the painting, where light shines in from a window. This light illuminates the figure of Alice, creating a play of shadows behind the figure, and focusing our eyes on her. Her flesh tones along with her red t-shirt and white skirt strongly contrast with the subdued colours of her surroundings, further drawing attention to the figure. The lighting Geraldine uses gives the viewer a sense of immediacy in the painting and the approach in which she handles her materials gives us clues into her disposition and personality. Her work shows deliberate self-control and discipline.
"This piece in a way explains my working method, most of the time my painting is a confluence of what I've read, heard, seen in the past and what I'm thinking and seeing at the moment. It's like keeping in the ways of wonderland, take care of the sense and the sounds will take care of themselves." (Artist's statement March 2007)
