'The River Runs Red'

The concept behind my exhibition title painting 'The River Runs Red':

The painting appears to be black with a blood like gash across the surface however on closer inspection you will notice there is also some texture underneath the painting that looks like whorls and if you look closer still you will find subtle glimpses of colour behind the black.

This painting was started in portrait and I created textured circles to represent the seven main chakra (wheel) in the yoga energy system. Each chakra being a different colour with the energy spiralling out from the centre and then across the canvass. This knowledge is now becoming more available and mainstream due to the popularity of yoga however it has been unknown in the west for many years and often misunderstood.

I then turned the painting over to being on the landscape to represent the collapse of the 'old ways' and the change to modern linear way of thinking reminiscent of patriarchal society.

This was then painted black to symbolise oppression and death and I allowed a small part of the underlying colour to show in places through the brush strokes - albeit only a tiny amount so not instantly visible. This shows that despite trying to bury this information, it has always been there even though it was not always immediately apparent to the casual observer.

Across the black canvass I applied a line of blood red paint, watered down so it would run down the canvass to symbolise the blood of those who were tortured or murdered for their beliefs (something which still happens in some countries today). It also represents the bloodline historically being through the female rather than the male as in modern western society. This was later repainted to provide depth to the main body of the 'bloodline' as I had had to water the paint down to allow it to run down the canvass.

It was an interesting concept for me to cover my work and hide the effort I'd already put in but nothing is permanent. Perhaps over time, the top layer of paint will deteriorate so the underlying colour comes through, perhaps not. This is something I will probably never know as it may not happen for many years however I am fascinated that there is another narrative behind the obvious, that there is light behind the darkness and that what appears on the surface is not always what is held underneath, maybe to protect it, maybe to prote