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Art Happens While Life Is Being Lived
A conversation with Sol and Blu
By Mollie Wilson
All art is grounded in an instinct to preserve. Preservation is a safeguard against our own mortality; if we can’t live forever, our ideas can. Or rather, some part of our unique experience, trapped in this moment of time, can be immortalised. At least, that’s what we think.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Sol Fernandez and her two-year old daughter Blu Fernandez Lennon, to chat about their upcoming exhibition at Gallery 17. ‘I Miss You Already’ explores the relationship between selves; past, present and future. The bittersweet nostalgia of fleeting moments that you have to let go of. Sol and Blu create art together, and through this art-making, they provide an insight into such moments in their own lives. In art, they can hold on to a part of themselves that would otherwise be missed or forgotten.
Photography by the talented Mae Hartrick
Despite the instinct to preserve, we cannot control what happens to our art when it leaves the safety of our homes or studios. The work gains a life of its own, and just like us, is inevitably affected by the unyielding passage of time.
“We think that we want to preserve our works,” says Sol. “But as time goes on, they erode and break down. I think that’s so nice and it’s not how I’ve been taught to interact with art in the past.”
Through working and living with Blu, Sol has learnt to relinquish control in her own practice, and beyond, when the paintings enter the world. It mirrors the experience of watching Blu grow and change. Children grow so fast, and they teach us to let go of any delusion of stability. We must accept that there are some things we simply cannot control. Sol says, “It’s a different way of going about things for me now, and it has to be.”
We cannot preserve everything, and yet, paradoxically, we are still compelled to document. Remembering and sharing is a human universal. Things change so quickly and the only way that we can hold onto a moment, or a version of ourselves or our children, is by marking time and documenting. Blu and Sol move through time, as we all do, and pass by many versions of themselves. Sometimes, Sol says, “the moment passes, and I realise that I’ve missed that version of her, but I’ve also missed that version of me.”
In the modern world, we have a complicated relationship with time. We are constantly running out of it, juggling it, chasing it. There are so many distractions and stimuli competing for our attention, that it’s difficult to stop. Notice. Breathe in. This strain against time is amplified when living with a young person, but Sol embraces the challenges of a full and busy life. “I wish people would talk about it more and express it more, instead of feeling guilty and ashamed about not having enough time and not finishing things properly.”
There is beauty in a real, messy life. In the show, Sol and Blu explore this theme through an ode to unfinished works. “It might be a bit shocking to see works that are clearly unfinished but I’m excited about that,” says Sol. “I think it’s a bold thing to say - these works are unfinished and we’re showing them.” They’re not glamorising the experience, but rather, documenting how it really is. Art happens while life is being lived.
Just like the other paintings in the show, the unfinished works are a snapshot of real moments between Sol and Blu. For Sol, painting with Blu is a special and tangible way of marking time. Describing a particular work from the show, she remembers “days where we had painted five other layers underneath.” No one else knows exactly how and when those layers were created, so “it’s just nice to have that for us, and to have the memories right there.”
Sol realises that documenting and marking time has always been the basis of her art practice. She recalls creating her own symbolic code to mark paintings with certain biographical events that had occurred during their creation. Working with Blu is an extension and realisation of the themes that Sol was initially drawn to. Multi-dimensional, multi-layered works with stories interwoven through each layer. Achieving harmony through the layering and alignment of chaotic patterns. Working with Blu and her instinctive mark making has made this process feel more authentic.
Photography by the talented Mae Hartrick
As we chat, Blu is working on a new piece, bursting with acid yellow and fuchsia pink (and a new addition of a scribbly Grinch). She works quickly, instinctively and confidently. Sol laughs and says “this is how so many abstract painters want to work. If she doesn’t like it, she will just move on to the other side of the board. And then she might paint over it. It all makes sense.”
“Mummy, do you have any chalk?” Blu adds.
The communication between mother and daughter is ever-present, verbally and non-verbally. Sol describes their conversations as an unending source of inspiration. Many of their paintings and poetry spring from their daily debriefs, or non-linear chatter between the two. “If I could advise any other parent, it would just be to talk to them as much as you can,” says Sol. The more you talk to your child, the richer their vocabulary becomes, and the easier it is for them to communicate what they need. This communication is echoed in their painting collaboration. As they work, Blu and Sol continually converse about how they want the painting to look. If it’s more of Blu’s work, Sol will ask her about what colours she can use and where she can use them, and vice versa.
“Whatever Blu wants to do, I will take seriously and credit her for what she does,” says Sol. “And this goes beyond art-making”
In their debut show at Seventh Gallery, Sol made the decision to hang the works at Blu’s eye-line, so that adults would have to bend down to see the works. Sol is conscious of the different barriers that we experience at certain ages, and she is determined to make things manageable and digestible for Blu. In terms of painting and accessing materials, canvases and other aspects of the art world, “I allow her to be as free as I can.”
This is a clear illustration of Sol’s mission. Beyond her collaboration with Blu, Sol is interested in space-making and community programming for members of the community who do not normally have access to these spaces. Children and young people, in particular, are often restricted from the art world. There are so many barriers to art-making and exhibiting art. The gallery scene is competitive and professional, and it can be difficult for young people to show whatever they want to show. Sol and a group of other local artists and programmers have developed Way Over There Collective to solve this issue of accessibility. They “aim to lift community members into spaces where they have tried to get into before and haven’t been able to.”
We have a lot to learn from children. Allowing them access to spaces in the art world is an opportunity for all of us. Children interact and navigate with the world in a curious, fantastical and unjudgmental way that we seem to unlearn as we get older. There is a distinct type of wisdom in a fresh set of eyes.
Blu and Sol’s show “I Miss You Already” will be open at Gallery 17 from Monday, 7th March till Sunday, 13th March. Opening night: Friday, 11th March.
Photography by the talented Mae Hartrick
Photography by the talented Mae Hartrick
A heart-thank you to Mae Hartrick for uplifting this project with her creative vision. Thank you for the gift that is capturing cherished moments in time.