David LeMay
Last Breath
Studies in Pnuema
Last Breath
"Pneuma" (from Greek πνεῦμα, meaning "breath" or "spirit") can refer to the breath or to the wind. The movement of the wind through leaves and across the landscape resonates with our own breath that sustains life.
In the creative process, whether artistic, spiritual, or intellectual, tapping into this divine energy can bring forth new forms, ideas, and expressions.
As a project title, it acts as a guiding principle that drives both the form of my work and reflects upon the context of its inspiration.
Context
Much of my work is drawn from working in the landscape at Acland. (see www.davidrlemay.com pages ‘Acland’s Garden’). Acland is a town 51 km Northwest of Toowoomba. It is mostly owned by the coal mining company, ‘New Hope’. While there is little trace of houses left, remnant gardens still define the vacant lots and evoke the memories of its inhabitants. It is a landscape imbued with loss and yet filled with life. This ‘tainted landscape’, of disruption and renewal is a testament not only to the movement of peoples but to the movement of places from beneath our feet.
Form
I terms of form I am drawn towards baroque forms of ornamentation which at times produce a dramatic whirlwind of colour, ungrounded in space. I draw from the remnant gardens of Acland, Glen Buetel’s garden (the last resident of Acland) and from my own, to produce these works. The combination of natives and imported garden varieties, loose in an untethered process of rewilding, inspire and shape the form and compositions of the work.
The works are acrylic paintings, painted on a translucent surface of stretched paper.
.jpg?etag=%22302a2b-679efedc%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&ignoreAspectRatio&resize=2000,1815&quality=85 "David LeMay Studies for πνήμα-pneuma, Grevillea Acrylic on stretched p")
