http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/441557 Karen Jinks - Whispers Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:03:10 +0000 a-n rss generator a-n The Artists Information Company and contributors edit@a-n.co.uk technical@a-n.co.uk http://sites.a-n.co.uk/img/logo.gif http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/441557 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/441557 I am currently working on a series of canvases under the working title of Whipsers. I work mainly in collage and have always been drawn to old photos and antique ephemera but try to give them a contemporary relevance. Over the last 18 months I have been looking into my family tree. The death of a close relative and the near death of another lead me to thinking about our family in general and how small we are. In times of crises family pull together and support each other but what do you do when there is no one left? Digging around the archives I became struck by the realisation that I actually belonged to a long line of relatives - real, living, breathing people with worries and hopes and dreams, just as I do. I always remember when as a 5 year old we moved into our new family home and I found handwriting under the peeling wallpaper of my new, empty bedroom. I can't remember what it said but I was fascinated by the idea that someone else had lived in that room before me. When as an adult I moved into my first house, newspapers of another time were found under the carpet. Like ghosts, the essence of ordinary people living ordinary lives, unknown messages. I think back to my memories of my childhood in that bedroom, the old peeling wallpaper covered in pretty pink flowers and forgotten for a time. Those flowers have now disappeared under numerous layers of paper and paint. I think about the unknown people who left memories of their own in that room before us. I think about the chain of people who loved and had children who grew up and loved and had children who became my parents who had me and my brother. I now have children who will carry on the chain into the future. Layers of memories surround us, ghostly whispers tell us we belong.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/441557