Aran 2005

Sean Scully’s photograph, Aran, is a study of texture and form, capturing a wall of layered stones in shades of grey. Looking at this, I can imagine Scully out there, finding beauty in the everyday, you know? Thinking about how to capture the light hitting those rough stone surfaces. He is probably thinking about the history held within those stones, each one carefully placed, bearing witness to the passage of time. There's something about how the stones are stacked. All those vertical lines leaning against each other, kind of like his paintings, actually. It's like he’s finding these unexpected echoes between the natural world and his abstract compositions. He is probably interested in the process itself, the act of arranging and composing, whether with paint or stones. Artists are always looking and responding to each other, isn't it? Talking to each other. "Aran" invites us to slow down, to notice the subtle beauty in the patterns and rhythms around us.