Title

Remembering Macabea

Description

A series of collages, exploring the novel the Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector (1977). The novel follows a very short period in the unremarkable life of a girl who has moved from a small remote town, to Rio de Janeiro. The lowly materials of discarded torn papers are re-assembled (re-membered) in homage to the character in the novel. The collaged figures are immersed in their urban environment, depicted by photographs of brick exteriors. 

The novel The Hour of the Star by Brazilian writer, Clarice Lispector raises that ever-familiar question: can an artist both maintain their objective gaze and engage with projects that deal with real-world issues and inequalities? 
 
“Salvation ultimately comes in the form of self-discovery and authentic self-expression” (Pontiero, 1986). Pontiero, Lispector’s translator and biographer, believed that catharsis for Lispector, came through the very act of writing. It was a form of release from the worry of how a society might value everyone’s efforts, rather than only those of a few.  The making use of every last scrap of paper, is my own symbolic way of recognising the worth in everything or everyone. 
 
Although the main character asks few questions about existence, (unlike her narrator who thinks of little else), she does have dreams (like buying face cream one day). It would be pointless to venerate her efforts with a grand oil painting. As the narrator explains, “Yet I have no intention of adorning the word, for were I to touch the girl’s bread, the bread would turn to gold – and the girl … would be unable to bite into it, and consequently die of hunger”.  

Location

​This work has been exhibited at Mrs F's Fine Food Emporium and Fultons Lakes Jewellery Works in Keswick. It is currently included in the collection at The Maker's Mill, Keswick, UK

Year

2018 ongoing