Emerging, Decaying
- Words by
- Peter Whyte
- Images by
- Peter Whyte
“Whenever you see flies or insects in a still life—a wilted petal, a black spot on the apple—the painter is giving you a secret message. He’s telling you that living things don’t last—it’s all temporary. Death in life. That’s why they’re called natures mortes. Maybe you don’t see it at first with all the beauty and bloom, the little speck of rot. But if you look closer—there it is.”
― Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch
‘Emerging, Decaying’ are stilled lives – contemplating the brevity of life, mortality – and the evolution of nature’s only real strategy for immortality – beauty, sex, and the passing of genes to the next generation.
These images were part of a group exhibition entitled ‘Three’, with the sensual porcelain ceramics of Belinda Winkler, and the contemplative metal sculpture of Curtis Hore, and these photographs by Peter Whyte. It was held at Bett Gallery, Hobart in February 2015.
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