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Fallen Angels engraved at Centre 64
By Mike Redfern
Kimberley mixed media artist Walter Comper pays his respects to the Italian Renaissance in his Angelo Caduto (Fallen Angel) exhibition currently showing in the Gallery at Centre 64.
Many of the engraved aluminum and steel panels depict classical female angels in various stages of descent, the compositions often allegorical in intent.
Not all the pieces Comper has on display reflect his allegiance to the Renaissance, however. Images more closely associated with North American indigenous folklore are also present as are pieces purely abstract in nature, drawing on the very materials used for design elements.
It is an interesting exhibition though not always easy to view. Many of the engraved images are not very deep, no more than mere surface scratches, and the viewer has to find the right angle to view them from so that the light shows up the engraved lines. One series of works, at first glance a bunch of brown canvas rectangles with slight discoloration and patching on them, upon closer examination prove to be intricate pieces of embroidery stitching up the rents in what are sections of an old truck tarp that Comper found in the bush. “They are like scars that tell a tale,” he says.
The artist is a scavenger of discarded materials, which he recycles into artworks. Old steel roofing, chunks of corrugated cardboard, volcanic stone from Atlin, a flattened rusted baby carriage, bits of comic strip and pages from books are all to be found in this cornucopia of angelic images. Comper is unapologetic about his long time preoccupation with the female angel form.
“What more beautiful image is there than the female nude,” he argues.
There are far too many pieces in the exhibition at Centre 64 to describe them all, but a mention of some will, perhaps, give an idea of the whole.
The Decoy, an engraved image taken from a mystery novel of the same title, includes the last page of the novel mounted on an old piece of roofing. Lady in a Snail is an engraved aluminum sculpture. Mother & Child is a painting of repeat images of a child, perhaps a cherub, with an engraved and flattened steel baby carriage affixed. Descent into Hades is an abstract mixed media panel of apparently burnt metal behind which a V of comic strips descends. The Narrow Land is based on the story of the shaman, depicting the shaman tied to a post and stripped of his skin to expose his inner self and cure the ills of mankind. Pandora’s Shadow depicts an engraved figure against a background of crushed blue bottle glass, representing light, and spray-painted wet sealer, creating shadow, above Pandora’s box with brass keyhole and copper wired corners.
Dragon Within is a carved cardboard panel, Dance of the Veils is a piece of carved stone, Alas Poor Poe is a painting of a raven on old roofing material that retains its faded colours and marks. The combination of the colours and textures of the recycled materials combined with Comper’s drawings and carvings makes for a fascinating collection of images that make this exhibition well worth a visit.
Angelo Caduto (Fallen Angel) runs until March 24 and the Gallery at Centre 64 is open from 1 to 5 p.m. each Tuesday to Saturday. Admission is free.
