L’èvolution des Enfants
The story of this exhibition started with a single image. An elephant hanging by a red balloon, the relationship between a mother and a child. It was this piece (White 1) that inspired me to look deeper into this universal relationship, the gift of life, and how they both evolve over time. The colored series (yellow, green, blue, white 1.2.3, blues, grey) represent the important relationship we have with an adult. Throughout the show, the mother/adult (umbrella) is always protecting, loving, caring for the child (balloon). Like most healthy relationships, the tie between these two individuals evolves as the child finds its own identity, wants, and needs in the world around them. This can be seen in the use of color and design throughout the colored series. The second element within this exhibition is the gift of life. The bond between mother and child starts with the first heartbeat we have as fetuses in our mothers womb. A heartbeat that is stronger and faster than at any other period in our lives. 180 beats per minute. I was instantly drawn to this thought of a strong fast heartbeat. What does a fast heartbeat represented in my adult life – movement, passion, fear, love – and above all else LIFE. Nothing makes me feel more alive than my heart beating strongly in my chest. A fetus, with its heartbeat at the highest it will ever be in its life, embodies those same characteristics. Excited, growing, moving, and fighting for a chance in this world, a chance at LIFE. It is this heartbeat that I feel so many of us loose along our way, along our evolution. Throughout the show the hb180 paintings represents this concept. The heartbeat change as we evolve, but should always be present, even if it is not as strong as it was in the beginning. I feel like if we hold on to what it represents – we can make it thru anything, fight for what we want, and continue to evolve.
About the artist…
Finnley J. Kirkman
Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest with two brothers, Finnley has never been a stranger to adventure. As a child she developed a deep-rooted appreciation for the beauty of nature which has evolved into a passion for travel and culture. Having lived in the Napa Valley and Germany with scattered journeys throughout Central and South America, she has recently found solid ground in the often shaky land of Southern California, where she hikes in the hills, bikes with no hands, paints, works as a domestic assistant, sips coffee, and cares for a curtain-climbing kitten called Westley.
