The Last Exhale

Texture of Time: Carbon

Texture of Time: Limestone

Abstract oil paintings made with sustainable materials and found earth pigments foraged on Lindisfarne Holy Island, U.K., 15 feet by 5 feet, 2022.

The paintings, Texture of Time: Carbon and Texture of Time: Limestone, are part of a series about Existence Tissue experiencing the 6th mass extinction of species. In this reference, time is the sphere holding the past that is underneath and within, the present that is perceived, and the future that is beyond the horizon.

Using ancient recipes to create the materials I use to make contemporary abstract oil paintings to communicate new ideas, pulls the past, present, and future together. Wandering in places of extraordinary beauty on the verge of extinction, I connect to the more than human inhabitants. Forming relationships with the rock spirits who have deep ties with time provokes desire in me to collaborate with the forms they dwell in and make earth pigments to paint with. Their stories, our stories, the universe, united at the end…when the stories are over.

When the Story is Over

In a time when the stories have failed

As we navigate collapse

When there is nothing left to say

At the edges

In the twilight

Beyond human

Holding uncertainty

Tilting into darkness

In chthonic realms

Going solo

When the story is over

~ Quin de la Mer, 2022

Poem: When the Story is Over (PDF)

Exhibition:

MFA Degree Show, Hatton Gallery and Fine Art Building, Newcastle University, UK

20 August – 3 September 2022

Preview Event 19 August 6 – 9 pm

The following images were taken by professional photographer Colin Davison, based in North UK. www.instagram.com/colindavisonphotography and www.rosellastudios.com

Work in progress, summer 2022. Photo cred Marius Ritual and Quin de la Mer.

The phrase “Texture of Time” was coined by Kerri Welch, PhD, Physicist, Philosopher, Author, Educator