malcolm tait, contemporary artist.                                          south holland, open prize

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Title: Dead wood lV, the transient nature of man.

Medium: Oil on canvas, linen and paper with dead wood.

Dimensions: 990mm x 990mm

The dead wood series explores internalised concepts of time in a simple manner; were created in 2007 three years after the pieces of dead wood came into my possession. The dead wood iconic of the fragility and decay of life also possesses undertones of something other worldly, hinting at a common theme in many belief systems.

These extremely hard pieces of wood will still decay, unlike the inert rock and stone surfaces depicted which they inhabit. The perceived comparative longevities of inert rock against decaying dead wood gives scope to convictions of the ephemeral nature of life and its episodes.

“Dead wood l to lV, the transient nature of man”, painted in grey’s with other unsaturated colours explores and is developed around the finite nature of one life, the regenerative nature of humanity is only slightly alluded to with the depiction of lichens on the rock surfaces, a very elementary form of life.

Dead wood V and Vl, the perpetual nature of man, uses primarily greens and yellows with hints of stronger colours which suggest a more fertile terrain in which regeneration can occur more readily. The dead wood in these last two works will decay but will feed future growth describing the perpetual nature of life.

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