As London's Frieze Week is about to kick off, a few shows we have definitely put on our list of things for our readers to check out. We wrote about Wes Lang last week, and today, we suggest a trip to Kirk Gallery to see our friend Chloe Early's Islands solo show.
“I'm interested in the boat as a symbol of the transitory nature of life," Early said of the new show. "An intensely temporary space where there is an element of danger, and an air of exploration. These paintings are about journeys; both physical and emotional. The most famous maritime paintings are predominantly 19th century depictions painted against the background of colonization, trade, wars and a typically masculine narrative of exploration. I wanted my boats to engage with the sublime but in a more subtle and personal way, to be local, feminine and to contrast the idea of external journeying with an internal domesticity.
"The figures depicted are females engaged in tasks related to their vessel. It’s unclear whether she is setting sail, arriving home, rescuing someone or rescuing herself or others. There are ideas of home, migration, adventure and a duality on how we experience the ocean - reflected in the inclusion of both leisure float rings and lifesaving buoyancy aids, both items serving the same physical purpose- to stay afloat - but one related to lifesaving and the other to leisure.”
