Layers of our Past & Present.124 x 162 cm, Denis Brown, 1993.

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Mixed media on paper folios, 124 x 162 cm, Collection, Irish Life PLC.

A work from the Ancient Codex Series, where huge wall mounted books are presented burnt, defaced, diseased or decaying. The series is an allegory of the decline of spiritualism in modern culture.

A brick wall was built onto the pages of this manuscript, a barrier to the underlying gospel text. The bricks (simulated by carved and painted foam) are reminiscent of those on countless buildings which are being corroded by atmospheric pollution and acid rain.

Yet writing rises to the surface again... but no longer Celtic calligraphy expressing glories of Ireland's holy past. This time it is crude graffiti, symptom of modern social oppression. Rusted barbed wire further symbolises the oppression of post-industrial slums.

Each of these forms of writing- graffiti and graceful insular script- has its own unique energy and dynamics, and each has a value and inspiration for me. If we can find a harmony between these apparent opposites, then maybe we begin to know ourselves.

©2007 Denis Brown  |  www.quillskill.com