What happens when text and image dance with one another? What happens when text and image awaken different parts of the brain and heart at the same time? Do we then have a new synthesis, a new art? Or do we have a primal battle? These were the framing questions asked by ROSL’s Visual Art Curator, Eilidh McCormick as she introduced the speakers at Tuesday night's event, Ben Okri and Rosemary Clunie.
Rosemary Clunie is a painter, printmaker and video artist, born in Scotland and living in Hampstead. She has exhibited at the World Economic Forum in Davos amongst other places. Ben Okri OBE FRSL is a Nigerian-born poet and author. His work includes the Booker-Prize-winning The Famished Road, the first in a trilogy, and Starbook, as well as collections of poetry, short stories and essays.
They have collaborated in our current exhibition 'Rosemary Clunie & Ben Okri; Dreams of our age’, which looks at the link between literature and art with a focus on their book The Magic Lamp: Dreams of our Age.
The talk focused on this creative collaboration, examining how they have worked together over a long period of time and the ways in which their work have developed through this connection. The curation of the exhibition was discussed and the link this has to the work on display, the text, and ROSL’s building.
The audience were told about how both Ben and Rosemary plan to move forward with their work, how they currently practice and their approach to the blank page (or blank canvas). The talk was followed by a book signing and drinks reception where Ben and Rosemary encouraged further creative discussions. It was fantastic to gain extra insight into the work on the walls of our clubhouse and to have another opportunity to enjoy it before it comes down on Sunday 14 April.
