Vaughan-Evans’ work is created using a process of layering light gesso on top of darker gesso to create a controlled surface in which the dark layer sits just beneath a thin, light skin and thereby alludes to a metaphorical weight beneath the surface of things. The images reference objects and places from her immediate environment and are created by sanding / etching through the thin top layer to reveal the dark gesso beneath.
Because gesso was used in icon painting and as a traditional Renaissance ground, it can be seen as a haloed surface. By cutting into or scarring this surface, Vaughan- Evans tries to investigate not only the conceptual issues of unearthing my past, but also the traditions of western painting under which she has studied.
Conceptually her work is very much about excavation, this is reinforced by the removal of the surface to create the image. Vaughan-Evans works with imagery that interrogates both the physical and emotional spaces that individuals occupy, as these spaces shape our identities on a personal and socio-political level.
Bird’s Gallery
Until 14 September, 2013
Portrait of the City, gesso and oil on board, 90 x 60cm
