Wild Pea and Teacup

"Wild Pea and Teacup" by Barbara Safran de Niverville, 2020
Pencil Crayon & Plexiglass on wood 36"x36"
"Wild Beach Pea thrives along the sandy edges of pebbled beaches in the
Maritimes. This work was inspired in part by old shipwreck stories that describe
household objects washed up on the shores of Grand Manan Island. It is easy to
imagine fine china, intertwined with seaweed and partially submerged in sand."
 
 
The Series Vanitas par la mer 2020 focuses on the resistance and hardiness of wild plantsthat the artist has found between a beach and a forest. The panels in this series evoke the mysterious resilience of uncultivated growth. Delicate details seem to fade into shadow amidst the discarded objects left by humanity, perhaps
suggesting human carelessness towards the natural environment.
A still life genre dating back to the Baroque era in western art (17th and 18th
centuries), Vanitas portrays realistic and symbolic objects to suggest the hubris
of mankind and the inevitability of mortality. Barbara has reinterpreted this point
of view, representing intricate vegetation amid shards of Plexiglass, ends of rope
or discarded china dishes. Wood panels are worked in pencil crayon on black
gesso with acrylic varnishes.