Thursday 27th May 2010 - Published by Lara Page - Account Manager
Social media inspires artist Joanna Gilbert for her touring exhibition
An artist is using the phenomena of social media as the inspiration for her latest exhibition.
Joanna Gilbert is exploring our growing use of social media – on sites such as Twitter and Facebook – and how we bare our innermost thoughts to friends and colleagues with Windmills of My Mind, which begins touring this September.
Indian-born Joanna, who describes herself as “very much the modern working mother”, said she was fascinated by how much time adults spent immersed in one another’s thoughts and wanted to probe the trend deeper.
A specialist in pop art portraits and modern abstracts, she uses digital technology to create hand-painted works of art at her studios in London.
The collection of pieces – including NObama, about the American President’s first year in office; Painting Peace, done to remind us that everyday there are soldiers praying for peace in Israel; and Stay at Home Mum, illustrating the pressure on women to “have it all” and still look glamorous - are akin to status updates on Facebook and Twitter, but in tangible art form, she says.
Each canvas takes between ten and 15 hours to paint and is worked from digitally-enhanced photography.
“Art is an expression of inner self,” says Gilbert said.
“I’m trying to reflect the diversity of ours lives now, in this generation, by building a collection that will reflect what we think about what is happening now.
“My exhibition tells the story of a happily married mum of two. Perhaps it doesn’t sound particularly interesting, but isn’t that point? Through social media and blogs, we have all become obsessed with the minutiae of daily life.
“Think of it as a real life tangible blog, with each painting telling the viewer about a snapshot of a mind. It is status updates in art.
“My paintings are like blog entries – a snapshot of a moment or a day.”
Windmills of My Mind - An exhibition by Joanna Gilbert
