THE PLAYGROUND GALLERY
THEME: ALIVENESS
Welcome to The Gallery. Here’s where we journey together, in spirit, in art. Here’s where we reach into intimacy and togetherness. By witnessing each others’ work, and by interacting with it too. Create in response to what you see. Perhaps you wish to remix or remake something. It’s possible you simply feel inspired by a piece and wish to create something from that feeling. We look forward to seeing what blossoms from you. With all the love.
From out of the shadow
the light appears
colours are blinding
the ones who not see
Smells are fuming
to be picked up
and brighten the day.
Where have you been
to appear in such miraculous way?
Shadows of light
dancing away
Promise me that
just like the spring
you are here to stay.
My name is Chinwendu Kelechi, I am an artist.
This is my submission for the Playground -Aliveness.
This may be a long read ahead : ))
In this painting is a river goddess washing herself. I painted this coincidentally with the new moon in pisces early March. I understand there are no coincidences, and my creation of this painting and the story it tells for me shows that even more.
I had just returned from an art residency in Lagos to my hometown in Abia State, Eastern Nigeria. I was sad and broken and thought very strongly of not going on being an artist professionally. I was cleaning up my makeshift work space and going through my things when I found a piece of canvas on which I had already painted a background. I noticed that I painted this rather roughly and fluid and in a style I don't usually paint my backgrounds in. There was also activated charcoal I had mixed into the paint. I looked at that piece of canvas and saw the figure of a woman flowing into it, her hands looked like they were pouring water unto herself as she flowed all over the canvas. I realized coming home that I needed a cleanse, however I could. I needed to get back to working and creating out of love and for love, out of truth and for truth. So I picked up a pencil and drew the woman and the water animals representing different spirits which dwell in water. As I painted her I asked myself how truly could water cleanse itself? And I realized it does this through movement, among other things. As it flows through rocks and gravel it cleanses itself pure and true. It seemed like I had painted that background and came home to it to paint myself going through a cleanse, like I had prepared my bath water ahead of a long murky journey. This painting really is me cleaning myself through movement, moving on with work and doing this out of love and truth, despite the sharp edges of jutting rocks and the toughness of the gravel. I realize as I move through them I get cleaner and purer. And I heal and come back stronger.
from the mouth
from the heart
I felt like being creative and had an idea to draw this, one step at a time. I was probably quite proud of myself, because this could be the first impression I had to paint or draw that actually looked pretty. I was impressed and grateful. When I showed it to a counsellor that I was seeing many years ago, I was surprised by his response.
He told me that it had meaning that the sunlight, only shone on the pretty parts and that it represented my beliefs about me, that I didn’t believe I was worthy of love, where the parts of me weren’t pretty. I explained to him that the reason that it was drawn that way was simply because I didn’t know how to draw the Sun to shine on the lower parts. I thought that it was strange that he was certain that was what it meant.
Now I think and feel better at allowing the sun and love, to reach all my parts. And I believe that it is important that I allow myself to be seen, for I am a work of art. And no matter what parts I might not like, or think are ugly… I am still Worthy.
Thank you for being here! Happy Creating.
Love, Yana & Jules xo