BOUNCING OFF CAVE WALLS
BOUNCING OFF CAVE WALLS is a solo exhibition of work by Haley Craw, exploring transforming bodies and psychological spaces that bounce between tenderness and rage. Using charcoal, pastel, and oil paint, she works intuitively to allow figures to emerge through line, colour and gesture. Charged openings reoccur in her work, shapes that imply an ambiguous borderline between the internal and external physicality of the body. Referencing the walls of the body, the caverns, crevices and grottos of the feminine, fluid forms beckon you within yet maintain their powerful mystery. The monstrous hides in a cave, feared yet seductive, the power of desire held at a distance. By representing the feminine in this way, histories of the passive nude are challenged. Rather than the female nude being on display in a manner that is easily consumed, she appears to be in perpetual transformation. The female gaze asserts herself by moving indiscriminately between borders.
The cave walls are also of the mind, thoughts and emotions that bounce off stone walls like reverberating sounds, shifting and reflecting, echoing and growing. The moment of transference from one surface to another, or the intersection between one line and the next, reflects the continual change of our minds and our bodies. The resulting change is a perpetual balancing act of creation and destruction, longing and loss. The subjective experience of perception also finds its home in a cave, asking you to try and discern the difference between the cold shadow on the wall and the warm flesh inside, even though you can’t quite place your finger on either.
Vulnerability is Precious. Pastel on paper, 76x56cm, 2022.
Sensitive to Suggestion. Pastel on paper, 76x56cm, 2022.
Skin That Crawls, Skin That Sings. Pastel on paper, 76x56cm, 2022.
Bouncing Off Cave Walls. Oil on canvas, 59x84cm, 2023.
Longing and Loss Feel the Same in the Body. Oil on canvas, charcoal on paper, found wooden door, 2023.
Feeding on a Reflection. Oil on canvas, 70x70cm, 2023.
Dressed to Confess. Charcoal on paper, wooden hanger, 2023.
Pulled By Tidal Waves, I Want You to Wear Me In/Out. Oil on canvas, 70x70cm, vintage blouse, wooden hanger, 2023.
Reassembled Limbs (After Being Split in Two). Oil on canvas, 59x84cm, 2023.
Devouring/Devoured. Charcoal on paper, 2023.
Unrelenting Tenderness. Oil on canvas, 70x70cm, 2023.
Black Shuck Licking Her Wounds. Oil on canvas, 30x40cm, 2023.
Somewhere Between the Dog and the Wolf. Oil on canvas, 60x80cm, 2023.
