New Mothmask Lithographs by Judith Mason

South Africa Mon 05-09-2011

New Mothmask Lithographs by Judith Mason
By a Correspondent

Judith Mason has signed her new series of lithographs. With her delicate drawing, these prints play with notions of seeing and being seen.

Judith Mason-Mothmask1

Judith Mason-Mothmask I

This is what she has written about the prints: "Moths are my favourite insects and summer becomes a real burden because I am always rescuing them from bathwater or guiding them away from bright and harmful lights," she says.

"I keep dead moths so as to enjoy their beauty for as long as possible, and find the complex beauty of the patterns and textures irresistible. The 'eyes', which are a feature of some species' markings, remind me of Venetian Carnival masks," she continues.

"The three Mothmasks shown here are a playful way of commemorating specimens I have collected in combination with the notions of disguise and disclosure. Two of them hide the face, and in the third, a face is revealed in close up, as he scrutinises wings through a magnifying glass."

Judith Mason-Mothmask3

Judith Mason-Mothmask III

Judith Mason is a painter and graphic artist of symbolic and mythological landscapes, figures and portraits. Mason works primarily in oils and pencil but has also incorporated various graphic media and found objects in her work as well as making a number of artists' books.

Her work is drawn or painted in reaction to her world: political events, comments that she has read, snippets of history or poetry which have caught her eye, or the experience of particular people or animals which are usually used in a symbolic context.

Judith Mason-Mothmask II

Judith Mason-Mothmask II

If you are in Johannesburg this weekend, Judith has an exhibition opening at Gallery AOP on Saturday the 10 September, as we enjoy the first beautiful week of Spring 2011.

To look at the series and more of Judith's work, please go here.

Posted By: Allan Kapten

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