THE PROCESS OF PEACE
BARBARA SIMCOE
Magdalene’s Cave
Digital Photograph
2010
What draws me to make my work is the perception that much of the world is largely pre-occupied with itself on levels and in actions that exclude spirituality. In its loudness, its violence, its unrelenting dedication to the exterior at the expense of interiority and its fascination with spectacle, is there a place for contemplation?
The figurative imagery I use in my work is almost exclusively of women and it is in the area of feminine archetypes that I am most interested – woman as vessel of creativity, as intercessor, as of the earth, as mother, as chthonic aspect of the feminine/masculine dichotomy, as the complement of masculine divinity. These are the subtexts of my work.
In designing my pieces I direct my actions to subconsciously access archetypes to create works that function as metaphor. They are intended to be vehicles for contemplation as the medium through which one can sense spirituality. My works are quiet yet at the same time they intentionally challenge a sensory overloaded and violent culture. The intention is that the works function to mediate the space between perception and meditation, a space that is ephemeral and intuitively accessed.
I am not interested in the reality of appearance and so the settings are mysterious and somewhat surreal. I am very interested in eccentric spaces and in most of my work I use cropping as well as mixing the perspectives and light sources. Much of my work from recent years has been influenced by a Fulbright experience in Eastern Europe, a trip to Israel and travel in France. In these countries I was struck by landscape and light, which have deeply influenced my work.