Wilhelm Hammershøi, Sunshine. Dust Motes Dancing in the Sunbeams (1900)
Julie Ewington’s essay on Kirsten Coelho contains many references to iconic images of light and objects. Ewington exercises her considerable experience in art curating and history to activate Coelho’s single porcelain vessel with a world of visual associations. This is one of the methods by which she manages to captivate the reader for 5,000 words while writing about a single object.
Julie, Kirsten and Garland have collected some of the images into a Pinterest board which you can find here. Pinterest has the advantage of a relatively static layout, which prevents images being swept away in the daily stream. We hope this might be a resource you can return to.
An importance reference is a painting by Wilhelm Hammershøi. For Coelho, his Vermeer-like evocation of Nordic light provides a redolent scene in which to imagine her work. Hammershøi’s work has also been enjoyed recently in the film, Danish Girl.
You’ll find an intriguing source of other references as well, including the Annunciation, medicine jars, door handles and the humble washing machine drum.
Ewington’s essay is available to subscribers, who also receive each issue as an e-book. Funds from subscriptions go towards funding future long-form commissions to help us appreciate the power of the handmade object today.
