Working with oil paint, Amelia Alcock-White employs a “wet on wet” technique that mimics the fluidity of water, an ongoing source of investigation in her practice.
Water Born, oil on canvas, 30” x 40”, 2012.
oil on canvas, 2011.
Installation Magazine: When did your fascination with water as a subject first begin?
Amelia Alcock-White: Water as a subject came to the forefront in my art with the birth of my first child five years ago. It came about spontaneously but perhaps my subconscious was considering how much of the universe’s water arrives as a byproduct of star formation. When stars are born, their birth is accompanied by gaseous clouds that produce water. I began to embrace the wonder of ambiguity.
Culturally, do you feel that our relationship or connection to nature is waning? If so, in what way?
Water symbolizes the mysteries of the subconscious mind and the holographic nature of the universe. I want to illuminate the nature of my own biology. I think a mistaken perception of the natural world is that it is “apart from us.” This denial rationalizes consumerism and environmental destruction. Our bodies are composed of the same natural resources in need of protection. If we love and respect ourselves, we’ll end up doing the same for the planet. I have always been in love with and terrified of water simultaneously. It provokes fear and introspection. I use it as a metaphor for diving down into the underworld in order to emerge feeling born anew.
