My work for Melbourne Now is titled Someday Soon, after the Ian Tyson song of the same name. Many artists have covered the song, but my favourite is Judy Collins’ version. At the time I made this work I think I watched this video 100 times: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w70-1b9SCj0
I made my drawing Someday Soon thinking about longing, nostalgia and rose tinted vision – the kind that obscures imperfections and makes excuses for reality. The images of the eyes that I collaged in a triangular mandala-esque formation were sourced from a general Health and Wellbeing book from the 1970s. The images were demonstrating the effects on the pupil under different light intensities.
I liked the images of the eyes, as for me, they conjured up imaginings of what they were perhaps looking at – cliched images of sunsets and long, open roads, or, a weird satanic ritual? I guess though if I’m being honest with myself they were probably just looking at the lens of chunky now-retro camera.
After recently watching ‘The Source Family’ documentary, detailing the lives of members of this 1970s Californian based cult – I associated my idea of rose-tinted vision with the exceptions and compromises they made in order to live what they believed to be a utopian existence.
Both my work and the phrase ‘Someday Soon’ itself lend to ideas of the grass being greener on the other side, of the ‘sun coming out tomorrow’. As dangerous as types of eternal optimism can be (for example, the leader of The Source Family ‘Father Yod’ hang-glided to his death believing his lack of skill at the sport would be trumped by his faith) I liken this work of mine to a symbol or celebration of rose-tinted vision, of being able to see things through a filter we conjure up to protect us from the horrors of the naked eye.
Someday Soon will feature in Drawing Now curated by John Nixon for Melbourne Now.