Striking the Eye 15 July – 22 July 2006

Descriptions from the artist, Debbie Ayles

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Enter the exhibition.

ABBEY SUITE 1* and ABBEY SUITE IV* are a diffusion of colour and thought. Chosen from a set of four, they are the result of further investigating the painting ‘Farewell to MR’ which was used in the original research. They are enlargements and developments of the original drawing and were planned to show an aspect of the psychological side of a migraine attack – how the bright strong colours and confusion that occur during the main phase, reflected in the original painting, can become muted and tamed allowing thoughts to focus and the ability to analyse situations and ideas in a relatively calm fashion.

ENIGMA 2* is one of a pair which were constructed from a similar method above. Many drawings of the High Street, Maldon, Essex were magnified and areas selected to form exciting and stimulating responses to the original drawings. The colours chosen are to simulate the colours and movement seen during a particularly ‘electric’ phase of an attack.

POOLE II and POOLE I* came into being from a complicated and chaotic still-life I set up from a friend’s collection of Poole pottery. I then took photographs, made drawings and studies to create images that became something completely different from the original source. Still retaining the structure of the original forms they became houses, views and landscapes in their own world.

MIRROR MIRROR combines many drawings of objects and views within a room. At the beginning of an attack some strange phenomena can occur such as the overlaying of images as you look around, making strange and confusing new shapes and forms. It reverts to the idea of migraine taking you to another world – some of it unpleasant and painful other parts are beautiful and calm.

JESMOND BARN* is a compilation of drawings and photographs of a barn in the village in Essex. I felt the regular horizontal and vertical structure of the barn, the sense of order that should impart, was being compromised by the fact it was sagging and dropping slightly, quite gracefully though, as if it was trying to keep itself in control regardless of the outward and inward elements that were attempting to make it lose its ability to do so. Although using the familiar framework of ideas I chose to include white areas which I rarely used before. This was to create the illusion of sparking and twinkling and to make the colours vibrate more than the strong primary colours in previous images. This painting also marks a change in my pattern of migraines. The vibrating strong colours seen in the middle of an attack stopped and migraines began to be heralded by seeing ‘stars’, a sense of swaying and objects moving about.

NEW BARN emerged from a series of drawings and overlays of Greenacres which is also an Essex barn. The colours swirl and twist to convey its collapse and attempts to remain upright. The barn was in a state of some disrepair which attracted me to it. The sense of collapse, that it was slipping away, seemed a suitable analogy to the lack of control one has over migraine. However GREENACRES marks another change in the conscious delivery of an idea and was painted after a review of the focus groups comments and reconsideration of ideas and intentions. I began to use more muted, earth colours, a more natural part of the environment for the subject and a calmer palette. Interestingly the barn has now been almost completely restored and is a strong and beautiful building again. TRAILER I – III and KEEP OUT are a series of observations around the farmyard of Greenacres.