Orange Picking; Red Vase; Sleeping Woman
Collection:UAL Art Collection
Date: 2019
Artist: Florence White (British)
Dimensions:
Painting: 150 x 200cm
Vase sculpture: 50 x 20 x 20cm
Handbag sculpture: 85 x 50 x 15cm
Medium: Acrylic, oil stick and chalk on canvas; ceramic, spray paint and grout; papier-mache, card and acrylic paint
Object number: UAC 964
DescriptionFlorence studied BA Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts. She says:
'In my recent practice I have been exploring ways in which my personal experience of colour synaesthesia can be translated to others who may not share my experience. The purpose of this is to provide viewers with a new ways of thinking about colour. Colour synaesthesia runs on the maternal side of my family, my great-grandmother, grandmother and mother sharing the same experience, and specifically favouring the colour blue. The links of the colour blue and ‘motherhood’ are prominent within my work, for instance, my personal response to the colour are the sensations of depth, kindness and loyalty, all of which I associate with the idea of a ‘mother’. This is embodied through the female only subjects portrayed in my work, seated in nurturing and calming environments.
My practice in some sense reflects a personal narrative of my lived experiences, exploring ways in which this is made possible through contemporary art. With my mother’s diagnosis of stage 4 terminal lung cancer in 2017 and in the face of her imminent death, I have used my practice as a form of self-therapy. [These objects are part of the installation] ‘The Blue Room’. This multi-sensory room was meant to act as an immersive experience portraying my experience of synaesthesia, however, most importantly it was a shrine dedicated to my mother. Each colour included in the work has sentimental and emotional value, referring to colours we had previously spoken of. My mother would frequently write to me about certain colours she had responded to, all of which I would then include in my paintings and sculptures. Therefore my practice can be seen as the embodiment of my mother’s letters, vulnerable and personal, but churned into something beautiful.'
'In my recent practice I have been exploring ways in which my personal experience of colour synaesthesia can be translated to others who may not share my experience. The purpose of this is to provide viewers with a new ways of thinking about colour. Colour synaesthesia runs on the maternal side of my family, my great-grandmother, grandmother and mother sharing the same experience, and specifically favouring the colour blue. The links of the colour blue and ‘motherhood’ are prominent within my work, for instance, my personal response to the colour are the sensations of depth, kindness and loyalty, all of which I associate with the idea of a ‘mother’. This is embodied through the female only subjects portrayed in my work, seated in nurturing and calming environments.
My practice in some sense reflects a personal narrative of my lived experiences, exploring ways in which this is made possible through contemporary art. With my mother’s diagnosis of stage 4 terminal lung cancer in 2017 and in the face of her imminent death, I have used my practice as a form of self-therapy. [These objects are part of the installation] ‘The Blue Room’. This multi-sensory room was meant to act as an immersive experience portraying my experience of synaesthesia, however, most importantly it was a shrine dedicated to my mother. Each colour included in the work has sentimental and emotional value, referring to colours we had previously spoken of. My mother would frequently write to me about certain colours she had responded to, all of which I would then include in my paintings and sculptures. Therefore my practice can be seen as the embodiment of my mother’s letters, vulnerable and personal, but churned into something beautiful.'