Lockdown stimulates artist’s Quiet Reflections

As 2020 saw the world change dramatically and we were forced into lockdown, artist Amanda Charge created a reflexive body of work being shown in a new exhibition opening at Newcastle’s Timeless Textiles Gallery in June.

Amanda’s exhibition, Quiet Reflections, juxtaposes her conflicted emotions during the forced isolation caused by the COVID-19, with the time and space it provided.

“It’s a reflective, quiet series completed during a time that was uncertain and chaotic,” she said. “The lockdowns enforced an unplanned and compulsory artistic residency in my home and studio.”

Feeling as though her life had been put on pause offered Amanda time to reflect and process.

“I wanted to create art that exuded a gentle and calm demeanour, at odds with the swirling currents of its creation.”

The works were created using found objects – sticks, feathers and thread – steeped in hand-ground Japanese pigment inks and quietly imprinted onto handmade paper.

“My process involved floating ink and waiting for that exact right time to capture a memory,” Amanda said.

Papers and inks from around the world are embedded as a detail intended to create a conversation about the global pandemic experience. 

“This time is an opportunity for the building of a global community through unity of experience, despite the inexplicable divisions that were drawn,” Amanda said.

The remarkable works in Quiet Reflections offer audiences a chance to experience the sense of peace and tranquillity achieved during their creation. The exhibition opens on 23 June 2021and runs to 1 August 2021.