Dimensions: support: 535 x 408 mm
Copyright: © Veronica Ryan | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: Gravitas Profundis III by Veronica Ryan presents a quartet of images; the dimensions of the support are 535 by 408 mm. Editor: Initially, the high contrast and somewhat faded tones evoke a sense of distant memory and perhaps a touch of melancholic reflection. Curator: The interplay between the abstract form and the representations of children prompts consideration of identity formation within social contexts. Ryan's work often engages with themes of displacement and belonging. Editor: The formal repetition establishes a visual rhythm, but the stark contrast between the organic shape and the portraiture encourages a reading that explores the interplay between interiority and social presentation. Curator: Indeed, the presentation and reception of such imagery in gallery spaces also highlights the socio-political forces that shape understanding and influence the art's narrative. Editor: I agree. It's the composition, the juxtaposition of forms, that ultimately creates a space for dialogue.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/ryan-gravitas-profundis-iii-t07773
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This work is one of three drawings in Tate’s collection (see also Gravitas Profundis II 2000, Tate T07772 and Loss of Selves, Place and Transformation 2000, Tate T07774) that Ryan made while she was artist in residence at Tate St Ives (1998-2000). During this period, Ryan worked in the former studio of Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975). Hepworth had moved to St Ives shortly before the outbreak of World War II, and lived and worked in the area for the remainder of her life. She was interested particularly in the qualities of form and space, and her carved sculptures were often pierced expressing a concern with internal and external forms. While in residence in the studio, Ryan made a series of works that responded to Hepworth’s practice while simultaneously addressing her own concerns. Ryan found the Cornish peninsula reminded her strongly of the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean where she was born and lived until emigrating with her family to the United Kingdom as a young child. These similarities prompted Ryan to revisit childhood memories in the work she made at St Ives.
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