Artist :
Ellen Hess
Genre : Photography
Period : April
21 till July 7
Everyday, 9.00AM till 6.00PM
Location : Jenggala Art Gallery
Jalan Uluwatu II, Jimbaran
Tel: 703311
Possibly starting with the ‘drip’ paintings of
Jackson Pollack, and moving on through the misaligned silk-screens
of Andy Warhol, and the spontaneous Performance Art of the
80’s and 90’s, ‘synchronicity’ (or
coincidence) and ‘chance’ both became prominent
features of late 20th century art. Within photography, in-particular,
there is always something that cannot be anticipated. An element
of ‘chance’. Even with a snapshot, where one merely
aims and clicks, there is no getting around the content. What
you see is what you get. But, within the framework of the
photographic act, the content is preserved while it is also
negated. A ‘good’ photograph literally exceeds
or transcends the scene as viewed by the naked eye. No matter
how carefully a photograph is staged, or an image selected,
‘chance’ can dictate the resultant picture at
the moment when the shutter is pressed. The model may frown,
or a cloud may pass over the sun, but the photographer must
calculate, accept or reject, these unforeseen ‘chances’
into the final image. A good photographer must have a lot
of technical and artistic skills, but, perhaps, patience and
some fortuitous good luck can be their greatest asset.
Ellen Hess was born in 1957 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
USA. In her stunning exhibition ‘Synchronicity in Water’,
at the Jenggala Art Gallery, Ellen patiently observes and
records ‘The Interplay of Water and Chance’ in
her remarkable large-scale photographs. Ellen began her artistic
studies at Horizons, a creative arts school in California
in 1972. She continued to study painting and sculpture at
San Diego’s Mesa College where she received a degree
in art in 1977. During a trip to Sri Lanka she discovered
photography. Also, during her travels, Ellen became a dedicated
surfer. Surfing proved to be her inspiration, as the reflection
on the ocean’s movements and textures, of the sky and
its lights, was the discovery that her art had long craved.
Surfing around the world, but especially in the Indonesian
archipelago, has cemented Ellen’s relationship with
water and light. She has tirelessly experimented with all
types of water settings, searching for moments of ‘truth’.
Ellen’s large-format Giclee photographs, printed on
cotton canvas, reflect the intuitive mystery of water, and
they allow the textures and movement inherent in water to
be fully revealed. Ellen feels ‘that the more one views
her images, the more they discover the many possibilities
within their own imagination’. This is a very astute
observation, for viewing Ellen’s photographs can trigger
a wide variety of responses. There is much to be admired in
Ellen’s work. Particularly her dependence on ‘chance’
and ‘luck’, which results in images that have
a spontaneous and direct quality.
Ellen’s photograph ‘Image 11’ brings to
mind the water-lily paintings of Monet. Where Monet used water-lilies
as a metaphor for life and spiritual energies, Ellen allows
a myriad of red and orange blossoms, floating on a dark tranquil
pond, to convey the same message. Here, the pin-pricks of
color can be seen as bursts of spiritual energy illuminating
our physical restraints. The random pattern of the blossoms
indicates the arbitrariness of life itself, and the inherent
need of mankind to create order out of chaos.
The English artist David Hockney has spent much of his career
painting and photographing the ‘play-of-light’
to be found in the water of countless Californian swimming-pools.
Ellen’s many photos, of which ‘Image 20’
is a prime example, also observes this intriguing ‘play-of-light’.
In a pale-blue, navy or bright turquoise, Ellen creates fascinating
abstracted images out of the reflection of light on water.
After avoiding recognizable reference points, her photographs
become Op Art images concerned with the random patterns that
can be found in nature. The results are a striking, unapologetically
decorative collection of images which display a kind of unforeseen
‘magic’.
Finally, the photograph ‘Image 25’ possibly conveys
the deeper meaning of this exhibition that we could whimsically
call ‘Zen and the art of Surfing’. As any surfer
will tell you, there is ‘more’ to surfing than
just catching a wave. It is a way-of-life that contains a
philosophy connected with nature and our place within the
environment. As Ellen’s camera captures the swell of
an approaching wave we can also sense her total accord with
nature and her ability to be within the ‘moment’.
This photograph superbly captures the exhilaration, and the
mysteries of life, in its many puzzling manifestations.
To enter Ellen Hess’ exhibition is to enter the enchanted
world of water. It is a dazzling exhibition that shows her
remarkable skills as a photographer, but it also depicts her
deep understanding of the spiritual realities of life using
water and the ‘play-of-light’ as her metaphor.
This exhibition successfully reveals Ellen’s patience
and persistence to find those special moments of ‘synchronicity’,
when her metaphors and messages can reveal themselves.
