CONTINUUM
Written by Al Rempel who is the father in the painting at the right. He is a writer and a teacher as well as a published poet.
WE HAVE PLUNGED INTO THE CONTINUUM
INTO THE PULL AND PUSH OF LIFE
OUR DAUGHTER, AT THE CENTER
ALL FEET AND HANDS GRABS ON,
FEELING FINDING HER MOTHER’S BREAST
LATCHING WE HAVE BEEN IMMERSED IN THE FLOW
AS THE FUTURE SLIDES PAST
OUR DAUGHTER UP FRONT REACHES OUT
TO US TO THE WORLD POINTING US
TO THE PRESENT LIVING WE HAVE
JUMPS INTO THE COMMOTION AND JOSTLE
OF PARENTHOOD FILLING IN THE BACKGROUND
AS WE HOLD HER UP AND FEED HER,
SWIMMING OUR WAY THROUGH LOVING
CONTINUUM IS TOO LARGE TO PUT INTO ONE PIECE ONLY. 48 X 139 INCHES – ROLLED CANVAS DONE IN OILS.
THE WOUNDED SWIMMERS
painted shortly after the 2004 Tsunami, addresses “Swimmers Series”, themes of isolation and physical distress.In this series of paintings a female form appears to float in a body of water.
Forms suggesting other figures or body parts appear in the first and second painting, yet convey a sense of displacement or abandonment. A shock of red appears beside a swimmer suggesting some kind of injury, which forces questions about her capacity for survival.
In the final painting of the triptych, a boat heaves into view renewing a sense of hope. On another level, however, the painting represents the Artist’s own struggle with an incapacitating illness. Representative of her own physical crisis and lack of certainty, the series of paintings also trace her journey through to the eventual hope that successful treatment provides. All three works are 36″ x 48″ and painted in oil.
Monique Germaine draws imagery from outside of her studio. The visual catalyst of “The Wounded Swimmer”, for example, lay in the artist’s encounter with a woman named Lisa, swimming at Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island BC. Lisa’s hair was dyed red and when she was swimming it looked as if she had been wounded. It was like blood to the Artist. It became the inspiration for the series.
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