Category: Still life

What the Thunder Said

Duke’s Mound, Brighton

…
Here is no water but only rock
Rock and no water and the sandy road
The road winding above among the mountains
Which are mountains of rock without water
If there were water we should stop and drink
Amongst the rock one cannot stop or think
Sweat is dry and feet are in the sand
If there were only water amongst the rock
Dead mountain mouth of carious teeth that cannot spit
Here one can neither stand nor lie nor sit
There is not even silence in the mountains
But dry sterile thunder without rain
There is not even solitude in the mountains
But red sullen faces sneer and snarl
From doors of mudcracked houses
If there were water
And no rock
If there were rock
And also water
And water
A spring
A pool among the rock
If there were the sound of water only
Not the cicada
And dry grass singing
But sound of water over a rock
Where the hermit-thrush sings in the pine trees
Drip drop drip drop drop drop drop
But there is no water
…

– The Waste Land, T S Eliot
V. What the Thunder said

Opulence

Royal Pavilion, Brighton

The Royal Pavilion filled us with conflicting feelings: on the one hand it was gorgeous, ornate, beautiful, rococo, inspiring beauty; on the other its luxury and opulence were disgusting condemnations of the inequity in human societies.

Lavender Koak

Charleston, Lewes
  1. Lavender Menace, 2025. Acrylic, cornflour and methyl cellulose on non-woven paper.
  2. Dreams of Letting Go, 2025. Pastel, graphite, and casein on natural rag paper in artist’s frame, 43 x 35 cm
  3. Dreams of Tender, 2025. Flashe, pastel, and graphite on natural rag paper in artists frame, 43 x 35 cm.
  4. Dreams of Sleep, 2025. Flashe, pastel, and graphite on natural rag paper in artists frame, 43 x 35 cm.

“‘The Window Set’ does not break down the threshold between the body and its environment, but rather makes visible the ambient poetics of their complex interdependence. In nature, the dream, and the domestic, Koak explores the ways in which identity extends beyond ourselves , and in doing so, envisions the revolutionary potential of self-knowledge and intimacy － transforming tenderness and vulnerability into outward resistance. Like Bell’s work before her, Koak’s work positions femininity and tenderness as the domain of radical connection. Here－ to borrow the words of Ursula K. LeGuin－ resistance cannot be bought, or stumbled upon. Instead, it is contained within us, yet ripples outwards － in landscapes, spirits, bodies and homes.”
－ Ella Slater, from the brochure accompanying Koak, The Window Set.

Can’t say I see it, whatever it means….

Floaters

Charleston, Lewes

We visited Charleston in Lewes to see the Vanessa Bell exhibit. It was bookended by the Quentin Bell sculpture above and the Koak exhibit, below.

“The Dreamer (2025) presents a woman in suspension – self-contained, serene, and held in a peaceful dream state. Her body is sculpted in concrete, a material often associated with foundations and stability, yet here taking on a surprising tenderness and warmth. The figure reimagines Quentin Bell’s sculptural series of levitating women, and Louise Bourgeois’s arched figures, as an embodiment of powerful vulnerability and radical dreaming.”
– Ella Slater, from the brochure accompanying Koak, The Window Set.