BY: CATHERINE HENNESSEY
Human perception is constantly seen through the looking glass of subjectivity, a tint formed by the collision of all colours of previous experience. As humans we are merely a collage of influence— a palate of watercolours through which a unified image of individuality can be seen.
“What ends up on paper is something I generally don’t recognize and I leave it to the viewer in hopes that they will find something within it for themselves.”
Pulling her inspiration from old portrait photographs, Catherine Hennessey works predominantly in watercolours. Working with watercolours is extremely temperamental, being that the paint is transparent and the opportunity to correct errors is very limited. The moody nature of the medium challenges the imagination that attempts to control it, creating a fluid dance between creativity and physicality.
Hennessey’s paintings are both haunting and striking bearing witness to the constant transaction between human perception and human experience.
