Remembrance: Poppies with an Oriental Twist

Artist Statement

The opening of Ceri Chisholm’s Remembrance; at the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month (2011), pays homage to the commemoration of Remembrance Day, and to the iconic, red, Flanders poppy, Field or Straw poppy, Papaver rhoeas.

Remembrance Day, formerly Armistice Day, marks the anniversary of the Armistice, 1918; the moment when the guns fell silent on the Western front, ending the Great War. 11 November now encompasses the memorial of many other conflicts.

As a specifically militaristic emblem, the Flanders poppy can be traced to a poem written in 1915 by Dr John McRae, We Shall Not Sleep, popularly known as, In Flanders Fields. After reading this poem, an American teacher, Moina Belle Michael, began to promote the poppy for use as a symbol for military remembrance in the States, where it was adopted for Memorial Day (the Monday closest to 30 May). As well as for Remembrance Day, through its association since 1921 with Anzac Day, the Flanders poppy has become a vital part of New Zealand’s national and collective history.

Ceri’s work too is inspired by poetry. Providing a powerful vehicle for emotions and ideas, the optical qualities of Gerard Manley Hopkins’s poetry, as well as McRae’s famous verse are sources of the visual richness of these remembrances.

The central motif of the images is the Oriental poppy, Papaver orientale. Belying its origins the Caucus Mountains, this particular choice of species also alludes to Ceri’s upbringing in the so-called ‘Pearl of the Orient’, Hong Kong.  The influence of the East on her aesthetic, especially in terms of colour appreciation, is evident in this series of works.

Despite resemblance to the opium producing variety, Papaver somniferum, the Oriental poppy (like the Flanders poppy) has no narcotic by-products. Similarly, the vibrant hues and dramatic contrasts of tone of these works suggest no dulling of the emotions.

Conceptually Ceri Chisholm’s Remembrance is the culmination of an examination of the symbolic representation of loss, of memories and emotions, drawn from life’s experiences and family histories.

The works draw on established iconography, poetry and literature, and are informed by colour theory, classical geometry, and botanical illustration. 

Formally each of the square images is organised and linked using the proportions of the golden mean, or golden section; a proportional relationship of forms dating back to ancient Greece. Overlaid by acutely observed three-dimensional objects that both overlap and elide, the ground appears fractured by colour. This creates additional tension by disrupting conventional readings of pictorial space.

Together, displayed in polytych form, the images, which act as a metaphor for life, are presented as a linear narrative; germination, growth, efflorescence and regeneration. Once the individual works or sets are dispersed the whole will only exist in remembrance.

The intention of this exhibition is to extend Remembrance beyond the narrative histories of modern combat, the borders of twentieth–century Flanders and the West, and the confines of contemporary religion and philosophy, and to create images that encompass a broader range of human experience.

Remembrance 

11 November to 11 December 2011

Ceri Chisholm