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Story by Jack Foley
'PHOTOGRAPHY,
painting and installation will combine to evoke memories of life in a Brixton
house', according to the promotional materials for a new exhibition of work
by Sri Lankan born artist, Roma Tearne, which can be viewed at the
198 Gallery in Herne Hill from September 13 to October 19.
Tearne frequently uses painting, photography, installation and daylight to
produce her work and regularly likes to explore the themes of history, memory
and a meeting of cultures.
Her exhibition, entitled The House of Small Things, will feature her
large-scale photographs (see examples on this page) of interiors with minimal
items of furniture that possess something strange about them. As viewers look
closely, they will realise the proportions don't add up.
The photographs are blown-up images of a doll’s house that she played
with as a child, in a house in Brixton.
Tearne arrived in Britain in 1964, by boat from Sri Lanka, on a journey that
took 21 days. Commenting on the journey, she said: “Crossing oceans,
we travelled 7,000 miles, chased by monsoons and battered by rough seas. It
was a journey I would never forget.
"Its impact on my life was far reaching, but it would be three decades
before its full significance would dawn on me.”
The disparate objects placed in the rooms — a piece of English furniture
here, a Sri Lankan doll figure or a pile of textiles there — are the
sole inhabitants of the miniature spaces.
According to the publicity materials, 'an oblique sense of melancholy reflects
the sense of alienation that she felt as a newcomer in a strange country'.
'Delicate paintings of near-empty rooms with peeling wallpaper add force to
this impression'.
The exhibition also features an installation that stimulates different senses, as well as a series of glowing images that combine photography, painting and daylight.
The
gallery is open from 11am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, and from noon to 4pm
on Saturday. The 198 Gallery boasts a unique history, initially established
in 1988 after the Brixton riots to provide exhibition space for black and
other minority group artists.
It now supports emerging contemporary artists from diverse cultural backgrounds
working with a variety of media and issues within a multicultural context.
The House of Small Things, Until October 19, 198 Gallery, 198 Railton
Road, Herne Hill, London, SE24 0LU.
RELATED LINKS: Click here
for the 198 Gallery website...
Click here
for more details on Roma Tearne...