The penetrating and astute observer and author, Patrick White has always been a source of fascination for me. His ability to dissect the human condition with precision and ruthlessness borders on genius, and I find his work totally engrossing. The title of his autobiography, Flaws in the Glass is a perfect fit. A fractured individual, who takes on the persona of his subjects and uses this skill to reflect our vulnerabilities back to us.
Hurtle Duffield, the protagonist in The Vivisector is beautifully depicted as the tortured and solitary artist, where art is all encompassing and there is no room for any other. I won’t say I am Hurtle Duffield, but dare I say it? There’s a weeny bit of Hurtle in every artist…
The shards of mirror in this work remind the viewer that they are integral to the formation of Patrick White, the author, thus enabling him to reflect our own flaws back to us through his words.
Airbrushed with acrylic ink, followed by ink linework and overlaid with shards of glass.
50 x 75cm | 4.3kg
3mm aluminium sheet with timber batons and wire string across back. Frameless edge.