David Whittaker 'Nature of the Life Pavilions'

N AT U R E OF T H E L I F E PAV I L I ON S

W’ hittaker David Whittaker N ‘ ature of the LifeD Pavid avilions

Dav id Whit taker ‘Nature of the Life Pavilions’

Nature of the Life Pavilions

By

D av id W hi t ta k e r

‘One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star’ Friedrich Nietzsche ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None’

Moments of darkness and joy, from the cradle to the grave. The weeping, the brave face. The unpredictable nature of being. The complexities of gender. Thought and emotions, personal and universal – this is what David Whittaker describes as ‘the rapture of life’.

An ever-increasing level of intricacy is a par ticular feature of this exhibition, with drawing underpinning the work. ‘The Gender Complexities’ are a series of painstakingly intricate drawings created through repetitive ‘prayer like’ scrawling and stenciling of found objects: lost keys, dropped coins, trinkets. Lives traced through discarded ephemera. A watermark is created that spirals outwards - fluid patterns flow across the board. Cellular, bodily and cosmic. Molecular. Chaotic and intricate. These are deeply personal markings. A more primal and expressive approach features on oval templates, which overset and contrast the work underneath. These ‘cameos’ illustrate the personal story, the isolation within the wider chaos of existence.

From the smallest vulnerable head studies, to the larger more imposing yet equally intimate painted heads - oppositions continue to weave – the familiar and the oblique in convolution and clarity. Macro / Micro. Dark / Light. Male / Female, Fleeting / Permanent.

A series of works, taken from a book of drawings titled ‘Studies from The Mirror of a Nightclub Toilet’ share, with often hear tbreaking openness, personal and imagined narratives. Individual stories about the mundane and the weighty, triviality and daydream collide with loss and suffering. Fragility and thoughts of escape. They are heavy, romantic, tragic, whilst remaining prosaic. Through this sharing you are propositioned to contemplate that you may be isolated but you’re not alone.

The exhibition culminates with the four large paintings from a series called ‘From the Modern Pavilions’. In these paintings Whittaker explores and experiments with additional creative methods, including this delicate watermark drawing, alongside meticulous paintings of collaged elements and more abstracted oil and acrylic work. They are the first of a series of specific por traits where Whittaker is reverential of the subject. Sitting at a table, served tea with the fragmented sitter in imagined conversation, surrounded under the pavilion of life by a complex tapestry of existence. Without cliché, affection or irony Whittaker describes each panel as ‘‘a sort of womb of the world’’.

These are works for people to engage with on a personal level – the readings are varied and multifaceted. They are Whittaker’s ongoing pursuit to find understanding. The boundless beauty and chaos of life.

Co-written by Olivia Gray and Joseph Clarke, 2014

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Studies from the Mirror of a Night Club Toilet, 1 - 10 10

pencil, china marker, collage & make up on paper . 42 x 30 cm

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Dressed oil, acr ylic, collage & pencil on primed panel . 40 x 40 cm 6

Prayers oil, acr ylic, collage & pencil on primed panel . 40 x 40 cm 7

Settings oil, acr ylic, collage & pencil on primed panel . 40 x 40 cm 8

Veil oil, acr ylic, collage & pencil on primed panel . 40 x 40 cm 9

Pharaohs oil, acr ylic, collage & pencil on primed panel . 40 x 40 cm 10

Cer titude oil, acr ylic, collage & pencil on primed panel . 40 x 40 cm 11

The Gender Complexities, Plate 1 drawing, collage, china marker and make up on primed panel . 80 x 80 cm 12

The Gender Complexities, Plate 2 drawing, collage, china marker and make up on primed panel . 80 x 80 cm 13

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The Gender Complexities, Plate 3 drawing, collage, china marker and make up on primed panel . 80 x 80 cm

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She Dreams the Night Before Surger y oil, acr ylic, collage, china marker & pencil on primed panel . 80 x 80 cm

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Transexual Locomotives of the Ape Cloth (Isambard Kingdom Brunel) oil, acr ylic, collage, china marker & pencil on primed panel . 80 x 80 cm

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Calling Towards the Mandrills oil, acr ylic, collage, china marker & pencil on primed panel . 80 x 80 cm

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I Saw Scott Walker in an Old Painting at Speed Through a Window of a Train oil, acr ylic, collage, china marker & pencil on primed panel . 80 x 80 cm 22

Rage Again my Love oil, acr ylic, collage, china marker & pencil on primed panel . 80 x 80 cm 23

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Fluffer of Angel oil, acr ylic, collage, china marker & pencil on primed panel . 80 x 80 cm

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Boy Ascends oil, acr ylic, collage, china marker & pencil on primed panel . 80 x 80 cm

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Beauties Form the Beast Towards English Lanes and Fairground Rides in the Rain oil, acr ylic, collage, china marker & pencil on primed panel . 80 x 80 cm 28

From the Grey Room oil, acr ylic, collage, china marker & pencil on primed panel . 80 x 80 cm 29

The Heavy Nights Give Way to the Distant Calls of the Zoological Gardens of Mornings Bright as I Gaze at you Through the Railings oil, acr ylic, collage, china marker & pencil on primed panel . 80 x 80 cm

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Saddest Intro oil, acr ylic, collage, china marker & pencil on primed panel . 80 x 80 cm

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From the Modern Pavilions 1, Dr Lucy Worsley oil, acr ylic & pencil on canvas . 122 x 122 cm

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From the Modern Pavilions 2, Alex Crawford, Skies of the Last Chance Souls oil, acr ylic & pencil on canvas . 122 x 122 cm

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From the Modern Pavilions 3, Mark Lawson oil, acr ylic & pencil on canvas . 122 x 122 cm

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From the Modern Pavilions 4, Dan Cruickshank oil, acr ylic & pencil on canvas . 122 x 122 cm

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Published by Millennium to coincide with the exhibition ‘Nature of the Life Pavilions’ by David Whittaker All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without permission Photography of work by Graham Gaunt Portrait photography by Joseph Clarke Publication produced by Impact Printing Services

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