Every Day, Life by Robyn Base
7 – 31 May, 2025
This series of works involves two disciplines: the first painting (watercolour and pastels on paper), the second sculpture (vessels made of fabric).
The paintings begin as a simple routine, the aim to complete one work daily. They are quick sketches of abstract shapes in space. The subject matter is inconsequential – a screwed-up piece of paper viewed from different angles. The colour palette is limited and the dimensions are uniform. The main focus is form, colour and light. Displayed together as a series of repetitive shapes, the images take on a softness, a flow and a rhythm, sometimes resembling organic shapes.
The sculptures are made of vintage cotton lace doilies and tablecloths cut, torn, glued and moulded over old vases, bowls and jugs. As well as repurposing materials that have had another life the works signal domestic themes and gender-based traditions. Vessels originally designed to hold water for washing or floral arrangements are rendered unusable, made of inappropriate materials. While the shapes are repetitious, variations occur in the patterning, assemblage and imperfections.
Both disciplines incorporate themes of repetition and domesticity. The paintings are intended as daily exercises – but ‘every day, life’ gets in the way. The normal distractions, and interruptions of the real world challenge routine and regulation. However, these diversions are themselves also part of daily life to be not only endured but embraced.
