Mandala 9

Digital video still

I work almost exclusively with digital video and at present I am making making purely abstract work with colour. I am using different rhythms and shapes to explore the “musicality” of colour. Just as sounds affect our emotions so does colour and changes in colour create changes in emotion. At present the work is silent because any sound seems to distract from the effects created by the changes in colour.

The work also explores themes of impermanence, interconnectedness and the cyclical nature of existence. It reflects and compliments my practice in Soto Zen Buddhism. I use only 4 colours – blue, yellow, red and green – with black and white. Layering them creates myriad variations. Rhythm, symmetry and repetition create ritualistic events which, for me, do seem to work in a similar way to music.

I began exploring colour and emotion through painting after I experienced the powerful impact of Mark Rothko’s ‘Seagram Mural’ paintings in the Tate. I also was interested in Barnet Newman’s “zips” as giving the viewer a sense pf presence.

I haven’t made a painting for some years now because the video process has thoroughly gripped me with its ability to incorporate change into what, to my mind, is essentially painting with light.

www.chrisloukes.com

www.vimeo.com/chrisloukes

www.axisweb.org/p/chrisloukes