Gathering of Ghosts 2014

Bernadette Resha’s painting, *Gathering of Ghosts*, presents us with a scene rendered in vivid blocks of colour and fragmented forms. The composition employs strong geometric shapes and disembodied figures, creating a dreamlike yet structured space. Resha employs a palette of warm reds, yellows, and browns, contrasted by a cool blue window, which draws the eye into the painting. The figures, almost spectral, appear both present and absent, their forms dissolving into the textured background. This duality challenges our perception of reality and presence, blurring the lines between subject and space. The use of geometric abstraction destabilizes traditional representation, inviting a semiotic reading of its shapes and colours. The painting seems to ask: How do we perceive identity and presence when the familiar markers are dissolved? It's in this tension between form and formlessness that the artwork challenges fixed meanings and values, asking us to consider the ephemeral nature of existence.