The Imaginary Body

The Creative manifests itself in the head, the Receptive in the belly, the Arousing in the foot, the Gentle in the thighs, the Abysmal in the ear, the Clinging (brightness) in the eye, Keeping Still in the hand, the Joyous in the mouth.’ - I Ching – The Path of the Body

The artist and curator Karen Lorenz invited photographer Phil Pierce and sculptors Phil Wakeham and Kari Furre to join her in this exhibition exploring concerns about the subtle energy of the body: human, animal or plant, and touching on fragility, projection, the imaginary, perception, and otherworldliness.

Kari Furre’s fragile objects explore the plant world. We might see a humble parsnip transformed into an object of timeless beauty, yet radiating a sense of humour as it defies its ordinary worldliness. Her choice of material is unusual. At an open studio event I discovered a small bowl made of fish skin, an ‘experiment’ as Kari told me. It was the delicate material and simplicity of the shape that triggered all kinds of associations about protection, being exposed, offerings, the cyclic process, reclaimed life.

Phil Wakeham’s work evolves around the human figure forged into to small bronze sculptures that reach out into the realm of mythology and architecture. Fragments of buildings growing out of the head and other body parts remind us of substance given to our dreams and vision and reaching a state of solidity. Bronze in particular invokes the idea of transformation; an effort that requires heat and energy.

The photographer Phil Pierce locates the imaginary body somewhere between the observed and the imagined.
"Photography is all about light that speaks, exposes and makes visible. It is about timing, trusting my senses, and being curious about the moving figure, be it animal or human. I play with perception and ways to depict a glimpse of a moment, often vaguely remembered and subjected to constant change. The beauty about photography is that the camera can expand the minutest moment in time and give us the chance to look at it more closely."

Karen Lorenz works with drawing, painting, sculpture and video animation. At the core of the work stands the notion of animism in line with James Hillman, the founder of archetypal psychology.
“(It) is not a projection of human feelings onto inanimate matter”, Hillman says, “but that things of the world project upon us their own ideas and demands, that indeed any phenomenon has the capacity to come alive and to deeply inform us through our interaction with it, as long as we are free of an overly objectifying attitude.”

Karen says, "My work explores the encounter with ‘the other’ and the space in which the encounter takes place. The ambivalent between is a meeting ground charged with energy, possibilities and uncertainty. I am curious about what ‘comes to the surface’, and the notion of an experienced, perceived, and projected reality."

For more information visit http://www.harbourhouse.org.uk/gallery-theimaginarybody14.html