HYBRID IDENTITIES Itsliquid
T time
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T time is dedicated to the memory of my great friend, Fiorella Mancini (1943-2021),
http://www.fiorellagallery.com/ , dedicated to my school art teacher, Kirsty Gibbs (1947-2025) and to my father, William Derek McNaught (born 1930).
It celebrates trade and peace in a time when trade appears to have coupled up with war.
The music, Adiemus (Songs of Sanctuary) is by Sir Karl Jenkins, performed by The London Phiharmonic Orchestra and a host of guests. It has no words. The singers sing in an unplceaveable, made-up language.
There are many choices embedded in T time, the first being whether or not you visit it. The second is whether you would like my company as you walk round. Many people, understandably, are concerned that the artist will start explaining things and detract from the spontaneity of the experience.
Please be reassured that, should you not wish to accept the offer, I shall be happy to continue to write, draw, compose music or study scores.
Should you wish me to join you, I shall be silent and speak only when asked a question.
Almost all of my paintings smell of turmeric and wax, many of cardamom, paprika, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, truffle oil and olives. These are some of the many treasures Marco Polo and others brought from the mysterious East. While the West craved goods, the East had a thirst for knowledge. In that little has changed.
I don’t sign pictures. Why, in the age of DNA, is it still common to put words on a painting?
I spit on my paintings instead. 🤓
In every case the choice of lighting is yours; all exhibits can be lit and seen in different ways. Any light switches you find are there for you to use. The LED lights can be moved to best advantage.
My thanks to Luca and Giulia from Itsliquid.
[ iT ’s liquid
iT ’s art
iT ’s PACE ]
Graeme McNaught
“T he” exhibits
T raid (horizontal suitcase installation, the East is right, the West is left - or do I mean wrong?)
T ravel (vertical suitcase, we’re off, imagine Ravel’s Bolero 😉)
T ciao
The hybrid identity of “T ciao” can be seen in the following.
Within the green glass plate, is this ink drawing:
T wine (a “drinking shelf” - wood, string)
T epoch (a kind of painted carpet [German: Teppich] made of a green bedspread.)
T reviso (a glass vase, covered in colour and wax. It is pretending to be Murano. 🙄)
T rust and T trinket (a collection of mostly silver objects scattered over the carpet.)
T rash (light installation, deploying broken glass)
This is also a viewing point for a growing collection of waxed drawings.
A pair of “isms”:
T rac(ism), “ism” 1, is a plain cheese grater, with traces of colour.
T error(ism), “ism” 2, is playing with fire.
T orte (cake plate)
T art (wax cake with sugar, peppercorns and enamel)
T o<>o deep (eyes, mirror duet)
T our (yes or no to a tour? Maybe you have changed your mind.)
T rust (all scattered metal objects on T epoch)
T ache away (coffee trays, mixed media, including bananas)
T axis (Mr President on the move)
T ally who? (5 postcards to accompany T rump on the move)
T optical (waxed newspaper and spectacles)
Where’s the T?
This ceramic teapot, made for an exhibition in Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art, suffered an accident years ago in the hands of a courier. It was repaired in pure gold, by the Japanese Kintsugi method, for this exhibition. However it suffered renewed damage while being transported to Venice and is displayed with a fresh breakage to the handle.
The T in question is the first T in “stimulate”, a reference to Eastern medical tradition. The “simulation” of good health, evidenced in antidepressants and quick “fixes”, is a Western concept, which seems to put productivity on a pedestal.
T he lampone (Ikea pillar light, coloured with water colour and raspberry juice)
T operation (glass lid on T he lampone)
T ray of hope (east/west tea party montage)
T owls (eight numbered pillowcases which represent the eight-hour clock)
T winkle (typical drab clothes for men)
Are men, like male peacocks, too beautiful for additional colour? The army gear has recently retired from combat in Ukraine, the boots stained with the blood of the fallen.
T he window (painted garden trellis in the form of a church window)
T one down (typical clothes for women)
They suggest, arguably, that decoration is required, decoration and makeup 😉
Are women not already beautiful?
deterred T (red enamel in glass, nuclear button)
T ea amo (just thought I’d throw that in)
T oo incensed (twin incence holders, yin-yang))
McNaught, has worked throughout Europe, in the UK and, extensively, in the Far East.
His ceramic teapot was made for an exhibition in the Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, and is now the central exhibit in T time, now bearing a gold Kintsugi repair.
In addition to his visual work, he is recording exclusively in the Fazioli Concert Hall, Sacile.
An opera, bee…or not, is nearing completion, as is his book, LightbeReft.
[final photo by Simone Vasques]