‘Where Can We Find Light..?’ by Hilary Mayo
‘Where Can We Find Light..?’
Inspired by Amanda Gorman.
Porcelain, graphite and charcoal on 300gsm cold pressed paper.
During the last year, the inspirational figure who immediately comes to mind, and I keep returning to, is American poet and activist, Amanda Gorman. During this time of despair and anxiety I found it helpful to look for signs of hope. One of the brightest lights in a year of darkness was the United States presidential inauguration of Joe Biden, and the highlight for me was Amanda Gorman delivering her poem, The Hill We Climb. Though the poem she wrote, and delivered with such an engaging vivacity, came out of the experience of a young black woman, descended from slaves in the USA, I felt her message of hope and optimism was universal and could be grasped by all.
I used extracts from Amanda Gorman’s powerful poem to create a palimpsest [pal-imp-sest] ‘a manuscript on which words or texts have been written, each one being erased to make room for the next.'
Brushing layer upon layer of porcelain slip, each layer was adorned with hand written words and phrases from the poem using graphite or charcoal, each were smudged before adding a new layer. The image you see is the remains of the painted canvas broken into fragments, many turned grey or black by the addition of obscured words...On Good Friday this reminds us that Christ made himself vulnerable and broken on the Cross.
Here are some of the phrases and words I included form the poem ‘The Hill We Climb’ by Amanda Gorman...
....Where can we find light in this never ending shade....quiet isn’t always peace....just-ice...That even as we grieved, we grew...That even as we hurt, we hoped....That even as we tired, we tried...But in all the bridges we’ve made..That is the promised glade..The hill we climb...If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, the love becomes our legacy...We will rebuild, reconcile and recover...When day comes we step out of the shade...For there is always light, If only we’re brave enough to see it, If only we’re brave enough to be it.”