DAILY BLOG

ARTIST – AMANDA NEDHAM/ 10.08.12

Talented illustrator Amanda Nedham’s newest work ‘Half of Less Than Ten’ is currently being shown at the LE Gallery, Toronto, and is sure to blow up a storm. Intricately detailed graphite masterpieces, Nedham’s collection was inspired by the love letters of Napoleon, and works to explore the power of potentially arbitrary objects to carry a narrative of passion and life. With colonial, religious and anthropological subtexts, Nedham’s work explores the creation of a relic.

 

 

 

As has been the case for Nedham’s past work, there is a focus on animals and hybridity, resulting in a form of horrific fascination. The pieces are so detailed they are practically breathing – and if they were, their breath would be slow and rasping as they tell a macabre story from beyond the grave.

 

 

 

Nedham introduces her collection with a quote from Herman Melville’s ‘Moby-Dick’, where he writes “there was no other secure way of preserving such valuable statistics” than to tattoo them on to his right arm. This human search for a vessel for our emotions, a relic to represent a loved one or a strong memory, particularly interests me, and I love the way Nedham translates the idea. Her chandelier-come-charmbracelet is, to me, an outward portrayal of how the mind clings to lifeless reminders of past passion. However, the use of animals as relics is all the more chilling – perhaps a warning as to just how dangerously far the mind is prepared to go to preserve itself.

 

 

 

Image Source: Amanda Nedham

Posted by: Victoria Roe

TAGS: amanda, amanda nedham, animals, artist, half of less than ten, hybridity, moby-dick, nedham, skull,

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