Morgan BellOpium Poppy inspires landscape ecstasy
March 24th 2008 05:52
"Purblind" is the title of this years John Glover Prize winner, an abstract landscape painted in high gloss enamel paint on aluminium by British ex-pat Neil Haddon. The menacing black silhouette of an enormous Tasmanian poppy flower dominates a streaky grey and purple twilight sky with inky cotton-ball clouds puffed across the the canvas like smoke circles from the indian water pipe of the caterpillar in alices wonderland.
The word "purblind" literally means nearly or partially blind, dim-sighted, or slow and deficient in understanding, imagination, or vision. Haddon intended the title to be a metaphor for European artists (like the prizes namesake fellow British ex-pat John Glover circa 1830s) sending back wild, exotic, and threatening images of a foreign land. To see Australia through European eyes is to adjust the focus of your vision to a new exterior. Like walking from the light into the dark, or vice versa, and waiting for your eyes to adjust to the new environment, causing momentary partial blindness.
NEIL HADDON (WINNER 2008) “Purblind (Opiate)”
The subject of Haddons prize winning landscape, the opium poppy, refers to the fact that 50% of the worlds pharmaceutical opiates are produced from poppy farms in Tasmania. Opiates are a huge industry in Tasmania and expansive poppy farms stretch out across the landscape on country drives, little known to tourists the seriousness behind the delicate little flower. Haddon describes Tasmania as an "analgesic island".
In "purblind" the way in which areas of paint meld into one another, suggest hallucinogenic and ecstatic states of mind. The painting evokes the natural world of sea sky and clouds with high shine shapes blending into delirium. Haddon has created a moody darkness, which is a sinister interpretation of the Tasmanian landscape.
I visited Evandale, Tasmania to view the exhibition and the photo above does not do justice to how the painting reflects the light in person. It is a large daunting image which you need to examine for more than a passing to be able to make out the ambiguous shapes. It is its ambiguity and boldness which makes it so enchanting and the reflective materials were a brave and innovative choice for the artist in a room full of mainly “traditional” pastoral landscapes.
As opium can ease the pain of the body, Neil Haddon proves art can be the remedy for limited vision.
Neil Haddon was born in Epsom, England in 1967 and moved to Tasmania in 1996 from Barcelona, Spain where he had been working as an artist and teacher for six years.
For the history of the John Glover Prize including former winners please visit my post Can we paint ourselves out of a paper bag?
The judges selected two former winning artists as Commended for their entries this year.
MICHAEL MCWILLIAMS (COMMENDED 2008) “Landscape with Ostriches”
STEPHEN LEES (COMMENDED 2008) “Flagging Jack Falls – Mt Amos”
The word "purblind" literally means nearly or partially blind, dim-sighted, or slow and deficient in understanding, imagination, or vision. Haddon intended the title to be a metaphor for European artists (like the prizes namesake fellow British ex-pat John Glover circa 1830s) sending back wild, exotic, and threatening images of a foreign land. To see Australia through European eyes is to adjust the focus of your vision to a new exterior. Like walking from the light into the dark, or vice versa, and waiting for your eyes to adjust to the new environment, causing momentary partial blindness.
NEIL HADDON (WINNER 2008) “Purblind (Opiate)”
The subject of Haddons prize winning landscape, the opium poppy, refers to the fact that 50% of the worlds pharmaceutical opiates are produced from poppy farms in Tasmania. Opiates are a huge industry in Tasmania and expansive poppy farms stretch out across the landscape on country drives, little known to tourists the seriousness behind the delicate little flower. Haddon describes Tasmania as an "analgesic island".
In "purblind" the way in which areas of paint meld into one another, suggest hallucinogenic and ecstatic states of mind. The painting evokes the natural world of sea sky and clouds with high shine shapes blending into delirium. Haddon has created a moody darkness, which is a sinister interpretation of the Tasmanian landscape.
I visited Evandale, Tasmania to view the exhibition and the photo above does not do justice to how the painting reflects the light in person. It is a large daunting image which you need to examine for more than a passing to be able to make out the ambiguous shapes. It is its ambiguity and boldness which makes it so enchanting and the reflective materials were a brave and innovative choice for the artist in a room full of mainly “traditional” pastoral landscapes.
As opium can ease the pain of the body, Neil Haddon proves art can be the remedy for limited vision.
Neil Haddon was born in Epsom, England in 1967 and moved to Tasmania in 1996 from Barcelona, Spain where he had been working as an artist and teacher for six years.
For the history of the John Glover Prize including former winners please visit my post Can we paint ourselves out of a paper bag?
The judges selected two former winning artists as Commended for their entries this year.
MICHAEL MCWILLIAMS (COMMENDED 2008) “Landscape with Ostriches”
STEPHEN LEES (COMMENDED 2008) “Flagging Jack Falls – Mt Amos”
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Comment by Lilla
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
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I liked these lines. I am an immigrant to Australian shores myself and adjusting to the light is still a bit of a problem... it is so different to the northern hemisphere.
I can understand why this painting won the prize and was amazed to learn that about Tasmanian Poppies - how very interesting, hey? Right under their noses... which brought me to that delightful Landscape with Ostriches *Chuckle* very funny... and apt and i enjoyed your argument on abortion.
Lilla ...
Comment by Morgan Bell
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You've read ALL my blogs! Thankyou!
This is my favourite of my blogs, im so glad you came over and had a look . . . im glad you can relate to the artist and his work, and first i couldnt even see the shape of the poppy and i had the look up the meaning of its title in the dictionary, but it ones of those fabulous things that all comes together in a "lightbulb" moment and seemed ingenius!
Apparently they want to try and use the illegal heroin trade poppies in afghanistan to make pharmaceutical grade morphine, which has some tasmanians nervous that they may lose the stranglehold on the market . . . just a bit of trivia . . . not how you think of tasmania hey?
oh and i enjoyed writing and researching the abortion argument, i didnt think anyone read it because noone responded directly but im glad you liked it