70.00 GBP
Collage, assemblage
stone, antique paper, antique map, ink, words
12 x 13 cm approx.
854 gram
Part of the London Rocks art project which explores literary and poetic narratives connected with the river Thames.
The stone collected at low tide from the River Thames foreshore at the location of Chelsea Bridge, is fused with fragments of paper which follow its contours reflecting the water's movement. The stone with its compressed layers of time is viewed here as a representation of history and its many texts and interpretations.
Handwritten on thin strips of antique paper applied on the stone, the verses of Chelsea resident Oscar Wilde communicate the poet's gaze upon the river with its changing colours, sounds and sights as it circulates in the midst of the London metropolis.
"The Thames nocturne of blue and gold
Changed to a Harmony in grey:
A barge with ochre-coloured hay
Dropt from the wharf: and chill and cold
The yellow fog came creeping down
The bridges, till the houses' walls
Seemed changed to shadows and St. Paul's
Loomed like a bubble o'er the town.
Then suddenly arose the clang
Of waking life; the streets were stirred
With country wagons: and a bird
Flew to the glistening roofs and sang.
But one pale woman all alone,
The daylight kissing her wan hair,
Loitered beneath the gas lamps' flare,
With lips of flame and heart of stone."
Oscar Wilde, Impression du Matin
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The stone's rusty yellow and dark markings and its almost fluid, irregular shape, transmit the impression of the turbid river where golden hues mix with its dark depths.
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UK and international tracked shipping
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Care Instructions: Please keep this stone out of direct sunlight and sources of heat and humidity.
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The work of historian and collage artist Lito Apostolakou hosted in Inklinks discusses narratives of time, words, memory and history. Lito uses antique papers, archival ink, vintage prints and worn stationery to create collages on found objects like stones, wooden boards and writing cases.
LONDON ROCKS is a project that explores the river Thames as a historical and literary narrative. The first London Rocks installation was exhibited in the Creative Histories conference, organised by the Bristol Institute for Research in the Humanities and Arts, Bristol 19-21 July 2017.
Lito works from her home studio in Muswell Hill, London.
www.litoapostolakou.com