Artist’s Statement:
Naomi Bellos, a Montreal artist working in printmaking, was born in the U.K. She has a Bachelor in Fine Art (painting and printmaking) from Goldsmiths College, University of London and a Masters in Fine Art (film and video) from California Institute of the Arts, U.S.A. For many years she studied modern dance and produced dance works and multi-media performances.
“I have been working in printmaking since 1996, producing both two and three dimensional works. The three dimensional work is usually developed through an interplay of the flat image surface and its relationship to the space around it or the space that can be cut into it. This process takes place at some point when the printed image begins to “mature”. The texture and sensuality of the paper’s surface, in particular “Washi” (Japanese hand- made paper) play an integral part in my work.
Although I have been working in different media in my art career, there is a predominant repetitive theme: that of the human form as a “shell” that portrays our inner “landscape”. The title of the installation shown is called “Housebodies”, as if our bodies house our life stories. The title of each separate figure indicate a different “story”. My work is often called “organic”. My images have grown out of my understanding of the body’s capacity for movement through my dance experience and my desire to express the connection between our bodies and the building blocks of the universe. In this present work, the figures are different in that the external forms are still, but the interiors are about movement and the direction of energy.
I have continually struggled with the question “Why do I make art?” My answer is that it is the only way I can make sense of life and respond to it as an ongoing dialogue. As a result of creating my art pieces, I have a deepening of the experience and meaning of being alive.
The first set of Stepping Stones are 7 feet by 4 feet, free standing works.
The second set of Small Stepping Stones are 6 feet by 1 foot.
