Exhibitions review: Michael Armitage and David Hockney at the Royal Academy
Emmanuelle Orr Emmanuelle Orr

Exhibitions review: Michael Armitage and David Hockney at the Royal Academy

On one hand, British-Kenyan artist Michael Armitage whose works are fervent and febrile and brim with life: animals, humans and spirits fill the large cloth canvases, building up a carnival of creatures, surreal and mythological.

On the other hand, David Hockney’s large iPad drawings of the Normandy scenery, deliberately childish and flat.

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Exhibition Review- Cherry Blossoms
Emmanuelle Orr Emmanuelle Orr

Exhibition Review- Cherry Blossoms

Close-up, the mark-making is very visible, each colourful blossom a thick smudge of paint, like a crossover between Claude Monet’s nympheas and Jackson Pollock’s exuberant paintings.

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Seabirds
Emmanuelle Orr Emmanuelle Orr

Seabirds

There is a lot to learn in both texts about the place of the artist in society. In both texts, they are seen as maladaptive, ill at ease with the ways of the world, and misunderstood by their peers. They are mocked and ostracised by the conforming masses, but soar high above them through their art and hard work.

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The attraction of pain
Emmanuelle Orr Emmanuelle Orr

The attraction of pain

The first reason of course, is the universality of pain. We might come from different cultures, different backgrounds and history, we might have different personalities and ways of interacting with the world, but everyone has experienced pain (mental or physical) and fear. The human condition, by essence, includes suffering and an awareness of mortality.

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A question of degrees
Emmanuelle Orr Emmanuelle Orr

A question of degrees

The truth is that in both cases, there is a contract between the artist and their audience: a language made of shared reference points and codes, a common semiology and vocabulary, a certain view of the world and the self

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Sparks
Emmanuelle Orr Emmanuelle Orr

Sparks

My own mental catalogue, is all about the senses. I catalogue fragments that provoke an emotional or physical response rather than a cerebral one. Words and images can both spark this epidermic reaction.

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Market days
Emmanuelle Orr Emmanuelle Orr

Market days

First of all, one piece of advice: do it if you can! Exhibitions, whether in person or online, are great, but spending the day exchanging with people who are looking at your work, seeing their reactions, answering their questions, is a real fun and interesting experience. You can see first hand when people connect with certain pieces, see what draws them in, and start conversations about your process and inspirations…

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Blueprint to my brain
Emmanuelle Orr Emmanuelle Orr

Blueprint to my brain

Ever since the diagnostic, I have known there was a story to tell in these images, I knew that I wanted to use these records to create something. I could see something in them beyond their clinical context, something beautiful and fragile. I kept coming back to this idea regularly, staring at the pictures

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World Art Day
Emmanuelle Orr Emmanuelle Orr

World Art Day

If you were lucky enough to go to Art school, you may have kept in touch with some of your fellow students, or you may see other artists in shared studio spaces, or at exhibition launches. But if you are self taught or didn’t stay in touch with art school friends, if you work from home and are just starting out, with not many exhibitions under your belt, you may not have those networks to fall back on.

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