“Flip, visited the Maureen Quin Gallery today 17/12/2019 in Alexandria, what a masterful sculptor- her narrative of late, specifically in the Hunt Series is chillingly beautiful. The elongation of these therianthropic, skeletal, anthropomorphic creatures are an enticement into the interpretation of the human psyche.
Initially dark, was my first response, but on closer observation of the ambient nature of the stance captured, it brings the question of the hunted and the hunt// sacrifice or the kill? In here lies the deposit of dichotomy in Maureen Quin’s work. A clear narrative of human form stripped of finery down to the ‘bare’ essentials. Adding to this is her ability to make movement out of elongation and embracing the negative space as part and poignant to the artwork itself. I know all artists need to consider the relationship of negative space in their work, but it is masterful when the negative space is so integral to the artwork that any which other way would be a divorce and desecration.
I admire her for her passion , commitment and drive to keep going for decades in the visual world from this tiny ‘pandokkie’ of a place called: Alexandria , Eastern Cape South Africa. An artist to be driven to that extent is certainly committed to their craft and with the need to continue ‘speaking’ through the image. She should not only be recognised but revered for her contribution to the visual arts of the Eastern Cape.
So here’s the funny part, the impact of my experience at the Quin Sculpture Garden and Gallery lead me to take the wrong turn heading to Bathurst and I proceeded to circumnavigate frontier country for two extra hours on the hottest day in Africa in a car with no aircon, to eventually arrive not a moment too soon to sip a pink gin on the veranda of the Pig and Whistle in Bathurst. “