“Personal Myth, Collective Dream 2” by Roz Cryer 16 November - 5 December 2015

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Artist’s Statement

I have become increasingly curious by the depth of wisdom myths and dreams have to offer us as individuals and fellow journeyers in life. As well as the collective myths that speak of the human journey and condition each of us has a personal myth that shows itself to us through our dreams. This force drives us and further reveals itself through the patterns in our lives, choices we make, the stories we are drawn to and images we work with. Our myth impacts our everyday lives and influences who we are and how we behave.

When we become aware of our mythology, both on a personal and a collective level, through a journey into the psyche we gain the opportunity of facing and changing our story. Each part of the journey brings us a step closer to individuation which, in Jungian terms, is a transforming process where the personal and collective unconscious are integrated into consciousness.

One of the ways this concept is being explored is through my artwork.

This exhibition will have on show paintings which will form part of the final body of work that I will be presenting at the completion of my masters at The Centre for Visual Arts UKZN and the spring board for a PhD proposal in practice led research in Fine Art. 

In my last exhibition I described the mythical forest in my oil paintings. Terri Windling, a writer, artist and book editor for the New York Publishing Industry describes this forest as “...the forest primeval, true wilderness, symbolic of the deep, dark levels of the psyche...” In this exhibition I am moving from the forest into the house symbolising a deeper exploration of the psyche. Each painting represents a room in the house or a part thereof in which the characters and backdrops emerge from my own personal myth. 

Technically each painting has been a journey in its own right. I have consciously left behind much of what I have known and endeavoured to find a new way of approaching my work. As in the forest, one of the challenges is to leave the well trodden path and find a new fresh way through.

The exhibitions closes on Saturday, 5 December at 2p.m.