The Art Journal
Towards Stillness
The all encompassing environment of nature moves one towards stillness and inner peace. I have deliberately obscured the location as I wanted the film to create a sense of the universality of nature. This scene could be anywhere. I used no edits. I just allowed each clip to flow into the next to create a sense of the atmosphere on the journey.
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Mesmerism
Mesmerism is a short film capturing a moment in kayaking when suddenly I am breathtakingly embraced in a way only nature in its epicness can. Scott’s Creek entrance from Middle Harbour, Sydney is disguised and not easily found. Yet every time I enter this place - the silence, gentleness of the flow of the water, the light filtering through the trees - creates a sense of entering an ancient place that can only be described as mesmeric. Mesmerism has been defined as a strong or spellbinding appeal; fascination - an hypnotic induction believed to involve animal magnetism. That is exactly what I experience in this world!.
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Australian Photography Magazine May 2021 Features Ralph Kerle
MIke O’Connor, Editor, Australian Photography Magazine, went on a very early morning journey with me to experience my creative practice firsthand. The conversation that evolved whilst we were kayaking in Middle Harbour, Sydney, Australia enabled me to expand on the philosophy behind my artwork and how that informs my artmaking. Mike did a superb job synthesizing these two elements into an article “A Sea of Images.” A proper critique of your work is a must for every artist. It opens the door for reflection and to new thinking on how to develop and innovate within your skillset. Read the outcome of the journey and conversation in full!
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Across the Great Divide inspires a new poem by renowned Australian poet Christopher Barnett
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Across the Great Divide [/caption] souvenirs speak to shadowveinto veinbleedover bayabyssabasedsilhouettes slithead to toein stained sandssandman's shelterto keep winterwinds outwalingwith wraithsdissonant alphabetslurch from larynxstone'splace in mouthso it bleedssoonwe woundyes wewoundtell by tearsepsisshinesin darksunwashwalls with shit you stolefrom mouths of other omenssalute salvationbrotherssisters ofmurderer of moonyou meantto goover dividebitethroughbone beforefatigue failsstillas nightnight still as deathsilent as birds breakinginto heavenc b - septemre 11 - nantes
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Art Critic/Historian/Theorist Dr Gary Willis on Ralph Kerle’s Gold in The Desert Dubai UAE Exhibition
“In the hands of the wise the earth turns to gold – Rumi..” These magnificent photographs by Ralph Kerle reflect the glittering essence of Dubai’s golden dream that lay buried in its sands for centuries. I have known Ralph for 40 years now and been a keen follower of his journey into photography since its inception. This is, in fact, the second catalogue essay I have written on his work. But Ralph’s images of Dubai are profoundly different to his images of Sydney. In these shimmering reflections of Dubai arising from the depths of its own ingenuity, Ralph seems to have reinvented himself as an alchemist – transforming all that he sees into pure gold. Clearly these are images of a dazzlingly smart city, built from the good fortune of black gold – oil, but in Ralph’s mirror of Dubai we witness the transformative act of an alchemist at work in ‘the richest gold mine in the known universe’ – the imagination. At origin the word Alchemy derives from ancient Arabic sources in the word Kimiya meaning – black – and has given rise to Al Kimiya – Alchemy - and the metaphysical search for that which brings life into perfection; the spiritual act of the self-transformation from formless base matter into pure gold. This is the production that the alchemists call ‘the hermetic wedding’ which produces ‘the son of the sun’ – The Philosopher’s Stone in whose radiant light we appreciate the alchemical significance of Rumi’s famous line, In the hands of the wise the earth transforms into gold. However, although long since discredited as a pseudo-science, the alchemical act of self-transformation remains as mysterious as ever. The 16th century physicist, astronomer and mathematician, Sir Isaac Newton, began his research as a alchemist in search of The Philosopher’s Stone and as an early alchemist Newton identifies as an arcane and spiritual man, who believed all natural phenomena were motivated by spiritual forces, not merely physical events. Alongside his examinations of natural phenomena, Newton catalogues alchemical phenomenon such as 'Neptune's Trident', 'Mercury's Caducean Rod' and the 'Green Lion'. Today we are in no doubt that gold is a rare element, that which requires a cataclysmic thermo-nuclear event to forge the nucleus of its sub-atomic structure. The Big-Bang produced carbon and oxygen, but it takes the collapse of a star, such as our own sun, to create a thermo-nuclear event required to produce hydrogen and helium. Such an event is called a supernova. But still it requires the collapse of a star five times the size of our sun, to initiate the thermo-nuclear event required to emit Iron (Fe). The collapsing core of such a supernova becomes a neutron star, whose nucleus is compressed into unbelievably dense matter. For example, just one teaspoon of neutron star matter would be heavier than the entire mass of Mt. Everest. However, to produce gold it takes the further collapse of two such neutron stars in what is called a kilonova event. Only a kilonova event is capable of forging the sub-atomic structures of a neutron star, to create the heavier elements of the periodic table, such as Gold (Au), Platinum (Pt) and Uranium (U). In October 2018, for the very first time ever, astrophysicists detected such a kilonova event, as a gamma-ray burst emanating from the other side of the universe – 130 million light years away. This cataclysmic merger of two neutron stars generated ripples in the time-space gravitational field surpassing astronomer’s expectations but confirming their theoretical modelling. The radioactive debris emanating from this cataclysmic kilonova began as plumes of the lighter elements, such as Silver (Ag), but soon gave rise to the heavier elements, such as Gold (Au) and Uranium(U). Scientists have since quantified the amount of gold produced in this single event at about 200 times the mass of the Earth and confirmed the kilonova as the only possible origin of gold in the entire Universe. So there goes any idea that an Alchemist could produce real gold. However Ralph Kerle’s golden photographs of Dubai, reflect the gold of the human spirit. In this regard we must return to the recollections of Rumi – the thirteenth century Islamic scholar and poet. “What's the point of bringing gold to the gold mine, or water to the ocean? There’s no point in giving you my heart and soul because you have them already. So I bring you a mirror to gaze at yourself and perhaps remember me.” This, I believe, is the gift that Ralph Kerle’s photographs of Dubai offer – the gift of self-reflection.
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Paradoelia - the State of Unconscious Inference
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="750"] Unconscious Inference 2 - 1500 x 1000mm [/caption] Often when I see an image for the first time I think is worthy of being a potential new piece, I attempt to title it. Sometimes the title comes immediately. The abstraction in the work is apparent at first glance and will name itself. At other times, titling the work is a real challenge. Sometimes an artwork will simply not give up a title that seems a suitable descriptor for the content in the work.In my favourite current read “the Age of Insight” , written by Eric Kandel, Nobel Prize Winner and Founder, the Center of Neurobiology and Behaviour, Columbia University, offers an interesting explanation as to why this might be the case.Kandel suggests our brains have an upward and downwards sensemaking operating mechanism. In the front of our forehead lies the thalamus. This part of the brain operates as a major learning mechanism through its interactions with the external world. It is here where the brain first encounters the experience of seeing, hearing, smelling before it enters the cerebral cortex. At the back of our skull lies the hindbrain made up of the cerebellum, pons and medulla, the repository of our genetically pre-disposed sense of being. It is the part of the brain that deals with our innate sense of survival.A connection along the brain’s synapses must occur between these two elements for us to make sense of our world. These connections occur rapidly, continually in the moment, as we sense and filter the stimuli in the world in which we live.Therefore it is not uncommon, indeed some would argue it is common, for external stimuli the brain doesn’t immediately recognize, results in an illusion. The brain needs to have an immediate answer for what we are experiencing in the moment so it can ready itself for its next moment of perception. This phenomenon is called paradoelia, a mental state that can be described as the tendency to interpret a vague stimulus as something known to the observer, such as seeing shapes in clouds, seeing faces in inanimate objects or abstract patterns, or hearing hidden messages in music.Kandel calls this phenomenon the state of unconscious inference. This is what I am experiencing when my brain is seeking to title a work. I tried and tried to name this new piece. The two elements of my brain failed to make a meaningful connection so I have titled it “Unconscious Inference 2” the artwork to hold this nomenclature. Perhaps your brain might perceive this differently, make a quick connection and come up with a better title. How did your brain experience this artwork?
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Perception and Its Visual Trickery
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Burnt Out 1 - Limited Edition 1/5 Sailors Bay Middle Harbour, Sydney. 19th Jan 2018. 6.44am [/caption] The genesis for my work grew out of my observations of nature and the discovery nature has a unique ability to create perfectly constructed abstract artworks. I make this assumption about nature and art because - as behaviourial psychologist Nick Chuter observes in his new book, the Mind is Flat - the brain essentially just makes everything up as it goes along – including what we fondly think of as our real perceptions of the world, which are nothing more than a patchwork of reconstructions and guesses. As an artist, this theory explains how I see the work I am creating – guesswork abstracts!! This idea of the brain playing games of neural guesswork regularly surfaces during conversations about my work. At first glance, the work seems to spark the imagination or touch an emotion in the viewer that asks the brain for a meaningful response. Whilst the response provides momentary meaning, in reality, often there is no connection between the meaning and the reality of the content of the image. Two stories from viewers whose perception of Burnt Out 1 were completely different demonstrate this idea Recently former US President Barack Obama was staying at the Sydney Intercontinental Hotel, the venue for my current pop up gallery. A young Pakistani security agent was placed outside my gallery overnight. When I arrived to open the Gallery in the morning, he walked over, introduced himself and asked if he could share something with me. Burnt Out 1 had occupied him during his 12-hour shift and he wanted to explain to me what he had discovered about the work. “It was” he said excitedly “beautiful and engaging. I have focused on it all night. I finally have discovered what it is. It is a painting from inside a cave and the light in the centre is the sun streaming in beckoning the person inside the cave into the light.” He wanted me to know this piece of art had affected him profoundly in such a positive way and asked whether I would pose for a photo standing in front of the artwork for him to send to his family in Lahore. Even though I knew what the image was in reality, whilst having my own view on what it might or could represent to a viewer, at no time had I even sensed in the image a cave. My new Pakistani friend had offered an entirely new perception of what the image represented. That I might have created a visual image that evoked Plato’s “the Cave” - my favourite Ancient Greek allegory - was powerful. Why hadn't my brain revealed that possibility? Two weeks later, an energetic loquacious gentleman, 70 years young and a World War 2 displaced person of Latvian descent, rushed into the Gallery insisting he had to buy Burnt Out 1 - now. He had walked past the Gallery several times over the last two days and Burnt Out 1 had made a very important connection for him. He and his family had been in the heart of the path of the Ash Wednesday bushfire in South Australia in 1983, still one of Australia’s most devastating bushfires with the loss of 75 lives and over 3000 buildings destroyed. Burnt Out 1 offered his neural pathway a sense of recall and yet peaceful meditation on a most horrific moment in his life. So what is the photo of in reality that has provoked these wonderful stories? I am conflicted about answering that question. Should I describe in detail how the imagine was constructed and take away its inherent abstraction, its mysticism. Or should I describe it in detail and let viewers examine their own reactions to the description. For the moment, I am holding back. Let your brain do the guesswork. Whatever it comes up with will be correct!!
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The Art of Naming
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Red Heart Blue Calm [/caption] Neuroscience tell us it is the brain, not the eye, that sees. The eye is simply a muscle that acts as the conduit for vision. It is the physiological mechanism of the brain’s synapses connecting that jump starts our perception with its store of memories and ideas enabling us to make meaning out of what we see. I am constantly reminded of this when I am creating Paintings on Water pictures such as Red Heart Blue Calm and Yellow Dance Notation I first see my pictures after my morning kayak when I download them to the computer. On first glance, I am waiting for my brain to speak to me about what the abstractions in the reflections on the water represent. What is my brain telling me I am seeing? Wassily Kandinsky, the Russian artist considered the father of modern abstract painting, spent years tirelessly analysing and observing his own paintings and those of other artists using this thought process, noting its effects, specifically on his sense of colour in order to understand and make sense of the abstraction in his work. Indeed, Kandinsky would take up to six months just to add one brushstroke to a landscape he was painting. He was observing in his own mind what his eye was capturing and only when he felt the brain had it right would he add a brush stroke of colour. Kandinsky believed it wasn’t the subject content of the picture that was important in a painting. In his view, artistic expression wasn’t about scientific, objective observations rather it was how colour, form and shapes came together to offer an artist’s inner, subjective expression of their vision of the world. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2500"] Yellow Dance Notation [/caption] My experience is this creative process is not always easy. Some shots immediately speak to me – others take days even months to reveal themselves. Yet it is in that moment of revelation of naming when I experience a completion in the work and an understanding momentarily of how to represent it – how to describe it!! More interesting from my perspective though is talking to viewers as they describe what they are seeing. It never ceases to amaze me as to what they describe they are seeing. This is what makes my work as an artist endlessly enthralling, enjoyable and compelling – the positive human interaction about how we perceive the world so differently yet how we can find joy and connection in the differences an image conveys.
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Why do novel experiences feel more intense gritty and real?
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1200"] The Red Masked Mast [/caption] A fabulous article by Daniel J. Siegel, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, the founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA, and executive director of the Mindsight Institute. His latest book is Mind: A Journey to the Heart of Being Human (2016) summarizes the thinking I experienced when I first started working on this series. It articulates beautifully how the mind tends work around habit and thus why as an artist you need to keep fresh in order to explore and find the novel both in your art and in your life.
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The Flare of Hedonism
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="5472"] The Flare of Hedonism [/caption] As I viewed the artworks being exhibited at the Art Gallery of New South Wales under the theme of the Embassy of Spirits in the 20th Biennale of Sydney, I asked myself "Is my art spiritual?" My art is based on the pursuit of happiness, well-being and nature. It has been created only for pleasure in the eye of the beholder. In that sense it is hedonistic rather than spiritual. In another conversation on the opening night of my last exhibition an artist friend asked "Is it art?" Visually it uses illusion to delightfully disrupt perception, challenging the imagination to interact with the work purely on its aesthetic. It contains no references to the political or the social The aesthetic in the work is gifted to me by nature in all her beauty and the resulting abstraction is a reflection of reality and a paradox. What does my art mean? In the art world as curated in the 20th Biennale of Sydney the polemic is art works always have a political and/or social context requiring a beautifully designed programme with pages of highly stylised text to make sure if you don't get the meaning of the work and all its strands of influences, you will have an instruction manual to ensure you know how to think about it and its meaning from a higher authority. My work is just an expression of pleasure in discovery - surely the basis of all creation.
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