Urban E_Scape 32 (2008) by Dionne SimpsonCanada Council Art Bank
Dionne Simpson was born in Jamaica, but moved to the US to study at the Cooper Union in New York, before moving to Ontario, Canada in 2000. In 2004, at the age of 29 she was the first winner of the RBC Canadian Painting Competition.
Simpson developed this signature technique by drawing on methods traditionally used in West Africa to embellish fabrics, however Simpson applies this to the distinctly European medium of canvas oil painting.
Simpson's artworks are created through a technique of 'thread-pulling'. Individual fibres are picked out of the woven canvas, and the resulting strips are refilled with various materials - glue, paint, wax, hair dyes, and even soil.
Simpson's 'unweaving' of the canvas also recalls the ancient Greek poem The Odyssey, where Odysseus' wife Penelope delays her fate by weaving a tapestry all day and unpicking it at night.
A loose grid criss-crosses the image, and provides a new context to work within. Simpson had said that, "The square is a reoccurring element in my work and is used as a symbol of growth, order and stability that has become the backdrop for Western living."
The earthy tones and regular grid give the impression of a paper map. Are we looking at a desert here?
Simpson connects dots and lines, and erases squares to create something like a pixelated digital images that veer from patterns to pure randomness.
Large blank squares on the right give the impression of a strip of 35mm film. Are we looking at an oil painting or a film?
Zoom out, let your eyes relax, and try and look into the painting. It appears that we're inside an urban landscape. The metal struts and shiny glass windows of city-centre skyscrapers appear in the washy brown surface.
Contradiction is at the heart of Simpson's work. This image appears to work on two levels, up close it presents randomness and destruction, from a distance, order and society.
Thanks for joining this tour of Dionne Simpson's Urban E_Scape 32. This painting is held at the Art Bank of the Canada Council for the Arts. You can learn more about the Council and their mission to collect and represent Canadian artists here.
