ESO ESPERO
ASHLEY
COOK
I would
like to thank Nuria and Pau for giving me the opportunity to exhibit
at Sala Ramona. I fell in love with this venue when I visited here
last year, and Nuria and I hatched a plan to make this artist
exchange between Barcelona and Glasgow.
My
work has an emotional basis. I wanted to make something current which
also somehow linked our own environments. For Scotland the thing
uppermost in our hearts and minds is the forthcoming Referendum in
September: a vote for Independence from the United Kingdom after 300
years together. I am voting for this chance for Independence and most
of my friends and family feel the same. I became aware of a similar
yearning in Catalonians last time I visited. So “Scotland as a
Queen” and “Catalonia as a Queen” were born.
“Courtship
with the Lender of the Last Resort” refers to the principal strong
arm tactic that the Government of Westminster has used to quell the
YES vote; that the Bank of England will not allow us to use pounds
sterling unless we remain in the union. The bank notes I selected all
bare the faces of many of the world´s most powerful leaders past and
present, a testament to how we are all ruled by money.
The
mermaid screen prints are from a suite of work I made after I was
diagnosed with a recurrence of breast cancer after being clear for 12
years. The recurrence came just before I was due to be married and
the treatment as always was hormonal. These treatments affect mood
and sensuality and the timing seemed rough justice to find love and
have your body ruled by life saving treatments which dull passion.
So
I made the mermaids as the sirens who seek earthly love even though
it will remain out of their reach.
The
two smaller works are wish fulfillment emblems; searching for
paradise, love and the freedom of travelling and living free.
I
make most of my income through sales of my prints, but on this
occasion I have made them very affordable. . . a piece of paper for a
piece of paper.
Post
script: I got married and the effects of the treatments subsided to a
manageable level and the tumour has disappeared and I am here in
Barcelona exhibiting my work. A happy ending… ?
Ashley
Cook, Barcelona, June 2014