Anima-Mundi (Formerly Millennium) | Shani Rhys James 'Antigone Automated'

CHORUS (Quote from Antigone by Jean Anouilh)

“The spring is wound up tight. It will uncoil of itself. That is

what is so convenient in tragedy. The least little turn of the wrist will do

the job. Anything will set it going:

lifting her arms to her hair as you go by;

a glance at a girl who happens to be

a feeling when you wake up on a

fine morning that you’d like a little respect paid to you today, as if it were

as easy to order as a second cup of coffee;

one question too many, idly

thrown out over friendly drink

and the tragedy is on.

—

The rest is automatic. You don’t need to lift a finger.

Friction. Death, treason, and sorrow are on the march; and they move in

The machine is in perfect order; it has been oiled ever since time began, and it runs without

the wake of storm, of tears, of stillness. Every kind of stillness.”

Antigone is an example of someone who didn’t compromise. She knew the consequences of burying her brother Polynices would be fatal and she would be walled up for her actions. But she felt it had to be done. As an artist in this time and as a painter, I feel that I have been swimming against the tide. To see it out by living in an isolated spot with no escape and just paint for thirty years has been a little like being under the radar, walled up, in a sense, by choice, quietly just getting on with it - knowing it was for the long term, to listen to one’s own truth and slowly develop, and there have been no short cuts.

Shani Rhys James, 2015



SHANI RHYS JAMES 'ANTIGONE AUTOMATED' - 5/6 TO 7/7/15 CHORUS (Quote from Antigone by Jean Anouilh) “The spring is wound up tight. It will uncoil of itself. That is what is so convenient in tragedy. The least little turn of the wrist will do the job. Anything will set it going: lifting her arms to her hair as you go by; a glance at a girl who happens to be a feeling when you wake up on a fine morning that you’d like a little respect paid to you today, as if it were as easy to order as a second cup of coffee; one question too many, idly thrown out over friendly drink and the tragedy is on. — The rest is automatic. You don’t need to lift a finger. Friction. Death, treason, and sorrow are on the march; and they move in The machine is in perfect order; it has been oiled ever since time began, and it runs without the wake of storm, of tears, of stillness. Every kind of stillness.” Antigone is an example of someone who didn’t compromise. She knew the consequences of burying her brother Polynices would be fatal and she would be walled up for her actions. But she felt it had to be done. As an artist in this time and as a painter, I feel that I have been swimming against the tide. To see it out by living in an isolated spot with no escape and just paint for thirty years has been a little like being under the radar, walled up, in a sense, by choice, quietly just getting on with it - knowing it was for the long term, to listen to one’s own truth and slowly develop, and there have been no short cuts. Shani Rhys James, 2015	Black Cot II oil on canvas . 210 x 210 cm Yellow Dress Black Jacket oil on canvas . 245 x 336 cm Bed and Wallpaper oil on canvas . 210 x 210 cm The Actress oil on canvas . 137 x 105 cm Mam a Merch oil on canvas . 154 x 154 cm Red Dolls House mixed media automata sculpture with sound . height 142 cm Red Ground oil on canvas . 210 x 180 cm Child & Pram oil on canvas, 180 x 180 cm Pram mixed media automata sculpture . height 80 cm Study for Automata mixed media on paper . 50 x 70 cm Study of Pram mixed media on paper . 50 x 70 cm Study for Cot Series mixed media on paper . 84 x 118 cm Tapping Hand mixed media automata sculpture with sound . height 160 cm Blue Top oil on canvas . 183 x 244 cm Red Ground II oil on canvas . 244 x 244 cm Giant Black Chandelier oil on canvas . 153 x 102 cm Flock Wallpaper oil on canvas . 40 x 40 cm Bedsit III oil on canvas . 61 x 61 cm Shaking Cot mixed media automata sculpture . height 112 cm The Cot oil on canvas . 180 x 210 cm Inner Room oil on canvas . 180 x 210 cm Roundy Round mixed media automata sculpture . height 165 cm Chicken Coop III oil on canvas . 183 x 213 cm Chicken Coop II oil on canvas . 183 x 213 cm Head 1 - 7 oil on board . 18 x 13 cm each Revisited / Studio Head oil on canvas . 31 x 25 cm Figure in the Shadows oil on board . 60 x 30 cm One Passing Moment oil on canvas . 80 x 40 cm Mallett, Nail & Petals oil on board . 50 x 100 cm