Diana Heeks - Drawer 1 - seen here
Diana Heeks' recent body of work is the result of her MA studies originally at Cardiff and latterly at Aberystwyth School of Art. Diana originally trained as a painter in her home city, Birmingham. Her paintings are abstract, often referencing landscape, but my favourite works reference textiles. Diana has worked often with the visual culture of south Asia and the Middle East, and the paintings which reference clothing of this culture are some of my favourites. She has made a series of images entitled Jubba.
Diana Heeks - Jubba - seen here
In this image, the start of her MA studies can be glimpsed in the stripes and also I think a slight sense of frustration with the limitations of medium.
What I admire about Diana (other than the work itself) is her focused, uncompromising attitude to her practice. She has a deep understanding of her own motivations and interests and is unafraid to take months and years over examining and deconstructing the techniques, colours and subject matter that interest her with a kind of obstinate vision (she would call it 'playing').
I went to Diana's studio when she was still experimenting with ideas of pleating and corrugation, and ruminating on how it should develop. I really like the outcomes in the work from her final show.
This is fascinating to read. I have seen some of Diana's work before but reading about that focussed approach to her work is very sobering. Oh to be that passionate and obdurate about something to the point that time becomes irrelevant almost. Lesley.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lesley! Indeed - persistance is a great virtue!
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