Andrea McCuaig → Still Point

Still Point is my first exhibition of works with a central theme of movement. These works were made and exhibited 2004-2005. The processes I have explored in these works are derived from translating elements of dance movement into an action style of painting. Rather than unconsciously applying paint to the canvas, these works use a choreographic approach to apply the paint in a kinaesthetic manner that mimics the original dance element. This way of working encouraged me to analyse the nature of (dance) movement and as a result I became curious about what the mind (mental) experiences while moving. Using myself as the experiment I found rich and dynamic meditative experiences. I also experienced spontaneous visualisations as a result of the joy I felt. Many of these visualisations are related to colour and nature, which I have incorporated into the painting compositions. I found a passage in T.S. Elliot’s poem Four Quartets; it seems to describe exactly what I was expressing in paint.

“Except for the point, the still point
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.
…music heard so deeply
That it is not heard at all, but you are the music
While the music lasts.” T.S. Elliot