Mind The Gap - various works by Morag Stokes

Mind The Gap –  various works by Morag Stokes

Showing in the spacious gallery of St. James Theatre in downtown Wellington, Mind The Gap is an exhibition of paintings and photography by Morag Stokes. For the first time, Morag brings together her different styles of work  in the same show. Her paintings fall into two main categories, ‘drag’ paintings and ‘text’ paintings, according to the different processes involved. Essentially abstract works, they have in common the removal of wet paint from a surface resulting in a work which is developed from the residues of paint left behind – a kind of ‘unpainting’.

 In the case of the text paintings, words or phrases are scooped out of layers of paint until they have no literal meaning. They are transformed into complex surface patterns unique to the words used. With the drag paintings, applied paint is dragged over a variety of surfaces resulting in works which often rely on linear relationships.

 Digitally manipulated photographic works also feature in the exhibition, further emphasising Morag’s interests in pattern generation.