Measures of Time – Annabel Rainbow. If you didn’t see this at the Leamington Open 2011, I need to tell you that it is a quilt not a painting – although there is some paintwork on it. However, it is the words stitched into the fabric and the symbolism that make this interesting. The quilt is embroidered with words from a poem by Jenny Joseph that includes the line “when I am an old woman I shall wear purple” – which I am sure you will have heard before.
Applause goes to Ms Rainbow for a quilt that works on two levels. First; it is (I am told) an impressively faithful portrait of the sitter; but second; the artist has been bothered to give us something to think about. I have an uncontrollable desire to see this quilt displayed next to one of dear Tracey Emin’s.
In an odd way, the quilt reminds of the National Gallery’s Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger. I don’t know why – you can email me and tell me I am a silly old woman.
In any event, who can argue with the message stitched onto this bountiful lady’s nipples – Pass the Cake! http://www.annabelrainbow.com
Ozymandias by Neil Moore. This is the first picture I saw in Leamington that convinced me I didn’t need to get the train and go to London to see good art. It was shown in the Leamington Open at the Pump Rooms a couple of years back. I am sure I will come back to reviewing Neil again and again - because I like artists that have something to say and he is always saying something (although I am sure I have no idea what it is much of the time). The title, which refers presumably to the poem by Shelley, gives the picture meaning that it wouldn’t otherwise have. A conversation about the arrogance of man and the passing nature of things is reduced to a pair of perfectly drawn, anonymous and ageless feet. www.neilmoore.co.uk.
