I wanted to have a theme for the Neapolitan exhibition, and I love maths even though I don’t understand it. Using compass, ruler and protractor is a soothing exercise in geometry, and I use them to determine the golden mean in my work, to find a balanced place in a design, or to bring a subtle order to a seemingly random work. Often the draft page is full of biro lines before I start to move from the 2.00 am scribble to something more concrete, and my ideas flow around these lines.
For Zero to Nine, I started with a circle for one, doubled it for two, used circles to then make triangles, squares, hexagons etc, and used those shapes to consolidate my ideas. They were not done in order of number, but in order of inspiration.
My work tries to tell a story, or ask questions, but in the end, art is in the eye of the beholder, and I hope you gain something out of the pieces that might jump out at you, asking for a longer look.
“The Drifter” by K Jayakumar inspired my same titled work, and WH Auden’s “As I walked out one evening” inspired “You Cannot Conquer Time”. Look up these beautiful poems on the internet. Out of the box of love letters and poems from my husband of 41 years I used a favourite which is written on “Seven Senses”.
Enjoy,
Barb Niz
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Old School. Got this old drafting set from the 1900-1950's, looks great but I don't know what they all do (tell me if you do). Orig 29 x 21cm
Dusk at the Sink. You are always somewhere else when you do the dishes alone.
Orig 17.8 x 12.7cm
Duality. The complexity of the human brain; left and right, mysterious, plastic, changing and growing. Orig 26 x 19.5cm
Shadowlands. The mandorla invites us to discard our masks and explore our own mystery beneath the surface. Orig 29.2 x 19.2cm
One Plus One equals Three in Awe Orig 20.7 x 15.7cm Large 29 x 22cm
One Plus One equals Three in Community.
Orig 20.7 x 15.7cm Large 29 x 22cm
No matter how or who, there is wonder and
joy in the creation of life, and there is
community involved in raising a child…
parents, family, friends, butcher, baker, candlestick maker…
The Softness of Hard Rocks. Coolum Beach. Rocks are always beautiful.
Orig 20.3 x 15.3 Large 28.4 x 21.4
Space Station. I was playing with the compass on paper and it kept evolving so I had to stop somewhere. Oneness in the fourness of completeness. Bound by DNA, how much do we really know and control? Small 26.4 x 26.4cm Orig 37.8 x 37.8cm
The Drifter.
Based on the poem “The Drifter” by K Jayakumar. I wanted to draw a magnetic compass. I buried my wet paper under rocks, leaves and soil, squirted it with brown and blue watercolour paint and left it to dry. It cleaned up as I wanted, looking like a map, so I found a poem to give it a story. (Read the poem).
Orig 21 x 21cm Large 29.4 x 29.4cm
I like to visit my favourite ammonoid fossil at the SA Museum in Adelaide whenever I can, very impressive at approx one square metre in size.
Holdin’ it Together. Sometimes there is struggle keeping our self intact, but at the core of our being, there we are. Orig 17.9 x 13.3cm Large 25 x 18.6cm
Evolution. A play on the growing use of technology, some wonderful, some not so. Orig 24.7 x 19.9cm
Life is a stained-glass window. Life should never be black and white, but a myriad of shades and nuances. Playing with lines to see if I could make this design I liked.
Orig 21 x 21cm Large 29.4 x 29.4cm
Ode to Tasmanian Devil. Becoming endangered due to cancer, will it be here in 50 years? Also features the State Flower – the Tasmanian Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus) Orig 21 x 21cm Large 29.4 x 29.4cm
You Cannot Conquer Time. This is a beautiful poem, and it mentions seven, so that was the go ahead for me. Based on the WH Auden poem “As I walked out one evening” (Read the poem). Ahh…. the reality of loving as opposed to the outpouring of grand declarations of the young in-lover. Orig 18.1 x 13.3cm Large 25.3 x 18.6cm
Seven Senses. We should live and make love with all seven senses…smell, feeling, speech, movement, taste, sight, hearing. I tied it up with a love poem from my husband. (Read the poem). Orig 21 x 21cm Large29.4 x 29.4cm
Sink or Swim. (With reference to the wonderful drawings of Ernst Haeckel).
Will you die within the safety of the sinking ship, or open the porthole and swim out into an unknown adventure? Orig 20.6 x 20.6cm
The Breath of God; the Key of Life.
Also called The Breath of the Compassionate, this tile design depicts the contraction and expansion of divine breath, spreading outwards, always creative. We are not alone. Orig 23.5 x 13.6cm
A Mischief of Magpies… isn’t that just the best name for this wonderful bird?
Nesting. Co-operation, building for, protecting the young. It’s a good thing.
Small 19.6 x 19.6cm Orig 28 x 28cm
Swooping Season. What’s pecking at your head, what endless ride do you need to get off….bit of self-reflection does a lot of good sometimes.
Small 19.6 x 19.6cm Orig 28 x 28cm
