Jan Atyeo - 'Resurrection'

Wednesday 27 February - Sunday 24 March 2019

For this exhibition, Resurrection has a dual purpose. It refers to the rebirth of Jan Atyeo’s artistic endeavour after many years and to the refashioning of found imagery into a new context and meaning. Atyeo delves into old books and magazines to source material that is then meticulously cut out and overlaid onto a flat plane: a traditional path in an otherwise digital world. The image is then scanned and reproduced in an unadulterated form.

On one level, Atyeo is drawn to the patterns, balance and architectural possibilities that lie with the new compositions. Yet, behind all of that, she is drawn to her early love of Dada and Surrealism, and the questioning of literal interpretation.

Within Atyeo’s internal world, she reassembles the images as a symbolic commentary on politics, religion and the madness of contemporary life. Atyeo likes the contradictions and the odd juxtapositions of symbols that transform what was once innocent into a new and sometimes darker meaning. The artist sees a parallel between her work and what the author Heather Rose describes as a long journey on the way to the ordinary.