Fantastic Fields- The Art of Hannah Melville

Black Asterisk is pleased to welcome Hannah Melville with an exhibition of her works, Fanstastic Fields. 

Volcanos are crucibles melting experiences, bold lovers are painted on Grecian urns, amphibious females emerge from the foliage….

It is said that symbolism appeals to the intellect and imagery to the senses, in Fantastic Fields both are used to introduce personal and universal narrative.

The paintings are liminal spaces, meaning that within them identity, time, and emotions undertake considerable change. Liminal is a transient state, a chrysalis condition imbued by the primeval, where archetypal personages communicate, observe and are observed.

“I liken my working process to a garden where seeds are planted, and others just take hold, some becoming rampant, others dying down to trace elements, roots unearthing treasure. Reveling in nature, blooms and berries, female figures and their familiars, sometimes slightly feral or pollen covered, juicy, squelchy, blooming and magic, transform and transmute with an archaic smile. Like the somewhat creaky yet compelling mystery of the tarot card my paintings contain a wealth of references which can be extrapolated on or left to their own devices”.

According to Hannah the business of existing is as mundane or as magic as one choses to make it. A central concept to her work is embodied in the statement “Rien ne se perd, rien ne se crée, tout se transforme." Meaning that nothing is ever lost or wasted. Everything, all energies and experiences can be transformed or can be transformative, if only we have the will to do so.

Originally from Devonport in Tamaki Makaurau, Hannah studied at Elam and COFA showing with Anna Bibby Gallery and Mori Gallery Sydney.

She has lived in London, Sydney and for the last very long while in the south of France, and is thrilled to be back home beside the sea after her personal Odyssey.

Fantastic Fields is part of a body of work from Hannah’s 15thyear in France where she plunged into the liminal state.

The exhibition will run through 7 - 26 September, Tues- Fri 12-5pm, Sat 11-3pm.

Please join us on Thursday 6 September at 6:30 for the opening of this exciting show.

Pictured: 'Nightingale (life makes my heart like deer's feet)', Hannah Melville, 800x600mm