Stella Cockery embodies the post punk ethos, making artworks that speak to musical compositions. Conceptualizing sound improvisation, musical improv has played a big role in Stella’s art practice. We can hear, through her paintings, frequencies, tone, color, waves and motion. Pop culture references and sensibilities, not a romantic paint language. Her practice makes a political statement, to keep Capitalism and painting separate. “Her process which is fast and open to impulse and change, experiments with the idea that we are surrounded by a mass of images and gestures that have been decoded and fragmented, resulting in a reduction of authenticity”
Mimicking powerful architectural buildings, paint smears and internet flows. Waves. Fringe artists, music, grunge. Like the grunge ethos of the outlier, a rebellion, not part of the art world. Making a political statement. Corkery explained how her works are composed, painting sounds and sound painting. Asa musician it’s a recursive process with one feeding into the other. white saucer room 2021. Sound creates visual patterns, frequencies and cymatics creates mandala-like formation of sand particles when placed on a steel substrate over a speaker playing different frequencies of sound.
Cymatics
During her BFA, criticality helped collect what it was she was taking from popular culture and indie music to base her works off. Over time she observed her own creative process, starting the painting process from nothing, much like her free form improv music making in three bands. Strict improvisations as a rule to quell the anxiety.
Found a movement which struck a chord with her personally, the “Riot grrrl” underground feminist riot protest movement, which began in the USA in the 1990’s.
History has sort to drive a wedge between painting and sculpture. Corkery says “I am trying to make a painting sculpture work.” Making paintings like doodles and thoughts, musical wandering across the substrate. A composition of visual sound is my reading from her works. The brush strokes and color palette are frequencies of sound meandering.
In terms of process, while there appears to be an iterative methodology, it is not a deliberate intention that has meaning, or symbolically being an abstraction or offer any reading a way in and helps explain it.
Thinking about returning for a PhD, one needs a topic. Is there a topic? How do you hold onto the trajectory without relying on a theory or topic? Using a contemporary theory, needing the Phd to help narrow the field for herself. Wants to consolidate and pull things in and help her own understanding of her work. It’s about the practice itself. Revolution is a theme in her work smoke signals and a pipe with Magritte
Painting to noise
Painting sound
Undetonated to be detonated bomb paintings who were they for? The bourgeois. “Making commentary on rich people owning the art and you could blow them up making a political statement about commodification of painting.”
Improvisation going from scratch you learn from the previous that helps build the next piece. Process of subtracting and keeping works. Process of curation like composition. Visual motif? Favorite medium is oil paint. Ditch what you know and put yourself into a difficult spot to get to something interesting. There is stress and worry in painting and needs to put herself into that improvisational space to make the work. Calm the monkey mind with music. The act of painting is problem solving on a canvas. Not wanting to conform.
Works in multiples and they have a dialogue between them and converse with each other. Resistance to verbalizing academically her works, painting is the language. Its a journey. Seeing her work develop across time shows. Mark making and colors. Color and form, painters find their methodology.
Asked herself the question how do I radicalize a painting? A counter culture stance against the art world. Opposing forces between painting and the history of painting. Punk and feminist subversive work.
Integrity and personal ethos about your art choices.
(Movie doco painting on painting)
”As a drummer who keeps time painting helped slow down time “