Coup d’Oeil ‘Sweep of the Eye’

I was honored to have had the pleasure, of opening Mandi Whitten’s first solo exhibition, on the 5th of August as part of the SALA this year.

I met Mandi, a few years ago, when I was working at Womadelaide – http://womadelaide.com.au/ Our friendship grew pretty quick, and we both decided to work on an exhibition together for Sala Last year. It’s was an extremely special exhibition, because for me it she who represented the people of Australia and by doing an exhibition with me, she was accepting and welcoming me into her world. And I assume to Mandi, my trust in her would have symbolized how even a stranger from another world ( …planet at times!!) can understand and believe in her work, and so should she. For both of us it was the thread of passion, which was going to help us create a new web of friends , who support and encourage us, to bring together a world of happiness with our art. In case you didnt guess, the exhibition was called, “A. Thread. A Web. A World” -  http://athreadawebaworld.com/

Mandi, is one of the very few people who have had the chance to explore, experiment and enjoy her life to the full. She managed to travel right after her year 12, (London, Munich, Rome, USA) to explore the world she lives in. On coming back, she experimented with various jobs like picture framing and running a furniture making and designing business. And today, she’s been enjoying creating her beautiful pieces of art not only in the virtual world as a website designer and developer but also as an amazingly talented photographer – http://weensyweb.com/

This exhibition makes you look at the smaller and most important things in life. A tea cup you drink out of, a candle holder, you light when you want to have a peaceful dinner with someone you love, a little dinosaur your nephew/niece must have forgotten when he was playing in your back yard, a pack of cigarette that gives you a high or coffee which helps you get a kick start, are all part of our daily lives, which we tend to take for granted. We tend to need these smaller things, but for some reason, we over look their importance and start focusing on the bigger things, not realizing that if the smaller things weren’t there, the bigger things cant really happen.

As quoted by Mother Teresa, “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”, and with this exhibition, Mandi has brought to life the importance of smaller things in life, which generally get unnoticed.

I am amazed at the diversity of her subjects always. In the exhibition, she’s made sure not only to focus on the photograph, but also the backgrounds. Each pictures takes you into a journey of not only the place the picture was taken, but also back in time. Usually a photograph is just simply put into the center, framed with flat white borders, and a signature and done… but Mandi’s pieces are stories that remind you to slow down, in your day, look around a bit more and enjoy the gifts of being alive.

“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive.”
– Eleonora Duse

I hope and wish, people who buy the pieces, will always feel blessed to have such a special presence in their homes, and connect their own stories to these beautiful pieces of art. If you haven’t been to this show yet, make sure you do. You can check out the details on – http://www.weensyweb.com/coupdoeil/coupdoeil.html Or you can see more pictures of the opening night on – http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=101806783020

Post a comment