ERIN LEE JONES: THE PLEASURES OF ENERGY

When considering what to write about this small body of work, ‘frozen energy’ came to mind.  Though the characters are graphically illustrated and bold in their own way, they also have a subtle vibration to them, a visual humming. There’s a psychedelic pulsation, like in that tipping point right before the acid kicks in, visually they are both coming together and simultaneously melting apart. In their compressed, classical portraiture size, the materials feel frozen in time, like a fossil, they are solid and yet somehow, they still have a softness to them, like you can feel the viscosity of the plaster and the wetness of the paint - alchemy preserved.  

These pieces began as portraits to explore characters for larger works but they have become a body of work in and of themselves. There’s Death in the room, a smiling Devil, a young Phoenix rising, multiple Savoirs. There’s an intimacy to the relationships, a unique synergy. This exploration has led to a dynamic force between me, the characters, and the materials. We spend a lot of time together prior to my solidifying them all in hydrocal. I draw on them, cut them out, talk to them, dip and arrange them, flirt with them, finesse them, argue and laugh with them. They tell me when it's time to cast. I feel as if I am not in charge, they are very particular. 

It's hard to fight with them - I don't really want to, I like being told what to do and the material directs me. Casting often feels like a natural disaster is hitting the piece - when it feels like everything has gone to hell and the piece is ruined.  As I cover each section, I am praying that the materials make it through to the other side. Then we wait. It's when 'the thing' happens. They don't let me see how they do it. I'm not allowed in for this part of the journey; the things I couldn't have predicted. The way the plaster solidifies the liquid acrylic into frozen tie dye or picks up an old drawing line on the rubber mat. Some moments are swallowed up into the hydrocal and others emerge out of nowhere - I don't see how it happens - that’s part of the thrill. It's where I let go and they take over. It’s through this surrender that the real action takes place - the pleasures of energy.