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UNTOUCHABLE I have had the privilege to sit quietly with many of Idith Levyïs works from they UNTOUCHABLE series and, as a result, have grown to view them as symbolic keyholes into the psyche. One peers into each piece as if crouched behind a locked door, intent on grasping what lies on the other side. However hard we may try to view the room in its entirety, through this tiny aperture, we are always unsuccessful. The individual elements reveal themselves slowly and distinctly swatches of color, texture, light, pattern, and form emerging from shadows and just as quickly receding from our vision. As a result we are left to coalesce these fragments into a cohesive whole in our mind. Such is the mystery of memory evoked not only with the above scenario, but, more importantly within these works. Faded, mutable, imaginary memories can be as vivid as yesterday's meal or barely perceptible. All are continually diminishing and because of this the outlines of our history remain both an enchanted and sometimes disquieting entity within us.
As one peers into each scene within this series we
receive essential fragments, or cues, which are
strikingly emphasized by the expansive space surrounding
them. No less of a story without extraneous elements,
these negative spaces powerfully recall the confines of
the mind as one reaches back in pursuit of individual
and valuable extractions. Evoking residual joy, guilt,
ambivalence, shame, or a combination of these emotions
and more, our recollections hearken beyond the present
residing in the stillness of one's past, or the ache of
an untold future and perpetually shape the story of
one's life. |
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