The word “scale” is a multi-layered concept associated variously with measurement, musical gradation, organic outer layers, ascending heights, immense space and minute details.
In relation to art, the nuances of scale can similarly refer to numerous elements - from the finished size of a piece; to the way in which the artist allocates, 'creates' or contravenes space; to the presence of translucent layers on the surface of a work.
The different artists represented in Scale not only uniquely investigate the various subtleties of “scale”, but enter diverse realms from the psychological to the spatial, from the indeterminate to the definitive and from the massive to the minute.
In the work of Gina Jones, scale is related to her three-dimensional architectonic practice. Concerned with the dynamic properties of light and space, each work involves state-of-the-art LED technology. Sequences of soft and subtle light changes in her works alter the scale and nature of both the artwork itself and its relationship with its immediate surroundings. The impact of Jones' work is much greater than their proportions would suggest, with the illusion of deep dynamic space created through manipulating the effects of light elements in her work.
While Gina Jones works tend to create a sense of alternating scale and space, Ray Haydon’s kinetic works activate existing space. Since much of Haydon’s inspiration comes from the natural environment such as wind and ocean currents and the cyclical rhythms and patterns of nature, inevitably his work is about interpreting these natural phenomena into abstract concepts whose scale is tailored to human dimensions.
Scale is also important in terms of Haydon’s site-specific kinetic works. If the site is exposed, immense and oriented to extensive views of ocean or landscape, the works need to have a certain monumentality of form to allow for a symbiosis between the viewing of the work and the incorporation of the natural environment. Conversely, Haydon’s smaller wall hung mahogany works are tailored to domestic interiors where the lyrical, rhythmic quality of their forms activates wall space in both spartan and more elaborate environments.
The concept of scale for talented emerging artist Josephine Cachemaille is altogether different from the monumental nature of Haydon's works. Cachemaille's tiny, intimate renderings of huge spaces displayed alongside domestic interiors tamper with our perception of relative space. Through the use of both a monochromatic palette and the manipulation of light sources, the artist creates a strong psychological edge in her work. An example of this is in Mustang where a horse (heavily foreshortened) has been compressed into superficial depth against the picture plane while simultaneously standing on a regular domestic bed in sharp relief against a strongly-lit bedroom window. Through the hopeless, doleful face of the horse, Cachemaille succeeds in generating feelings of compassion and frustration for this large animal trapped in both unconventional circumstances and in unnatural space.
Like many layers of skin or connective tissue, Linda Holloway’s paintings deal with issues of scale conceptually, physically and spatially. Her current series of work Everything and No Thing deals at a symbolic level with our perception of matter in space - when viewing her work, it is equally possible to believe we are viewing large inter-galactic explosions or small chemical combustions under a microscope. Holloway works entirely with paint on the flat surface, applying several layers of paint and transparencies and then sanding the surface. The process is repeated over and over, building up the surface to a point where we begin to obtain a sense of deep indeterminate, but definitive, space. At the same time these glazes give the works a sense of layering transparent skins one on top of the other which if peeled off would reveal still more underneath.
With his installation of two works, Will Handley exploits the obvious nature of ‘scale’, activating space by tracking the interaction between his wall-hung art work and the captive observer placed on the floor. The works allow a viewer the pleasure of taking in the installation as a powerful whole or exploring the tiny details of the component pieces, which also incorporate literal scales in the armour plating of the child observer. Thematically, Handley's pieces interact paradoxically - on one hand they work across some of the largest themes in life - religion, conditioning, love, preservation and risk - and on the other, utilise a deeply intimate, psychological vignette to convey the message. Thus conceptually, as well as physically, they can be seen to ask questions of the nature of space and relationships.
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