THE LONG SILENCES
Inspired by the poetry of Franz Wright and the landscape of West Cornwall.
Words in response from Mark Goodwin.
For twenty years home was West Cornwall; during that time this ancient land became part of my being. I began to question the notion of home and what is intended by this usually learnt ideal. With a changed perception I walked out and lived in the landscape for a five-year period. The experiences of place in its raw and beautiful state revealed another side that was previously only glimpsed, an otherness which became the thread weaving through and drawing together this collection.
During this time of deep engagement, the poetry of Franz Wright, specifically the collection God’s silence (2006) was a light that I held close, his voice guided me through storms and provided moments of pure delight.
My practice has always been a dialogue between landscapes, poets and the creation of the work. Poets’ voices often dictate the landscape selected and inform the titles of works. When a connection to a particular poet is made, I read as much as is available from their oeuvre. This gradually evolves into me hearing their voice when grounded in the landscape and a creative dialogue begins.
The poets that influence the works have distinct voices and for me specific aromas. During The long silences the scent of D. H. Lawrence was an uninvited presence and as a response he needed to be silenced. The development of the composted novels became a way of quietening the voice while acknowledging his influence.
The need to silence Lawrence came in stark contrast to the guiding light of Franz Wright.
Lawrence wrote:
The English are paralysed by fear. That is what thwarts and distorts the Anglo-Saxon existence, this paralysis of fear. It thwarts life, it distorts vision, and it strangles impulse: this overmastering fear. And fear of what, in heaven’s name? We have to answer that before we can understand the failure in the visual arts.
[Introduction to these paintings 1928-9]
Reading Lawrence made me question my own fears: if I had any what were they? The response to this questioning hangs within the collection. The hope is that the work encompasses Franz Wright’s description of the true nature of creativity:
It is proof, that someone wasn’t afraid for a while.
[Franz Wright: from the last tape recordings 2014]
During the later stages of this collection I reconnected with the poet Mark Goodwin. Mark has created a series of poems responding to many of the works from The long silences in the most beautifully appropriate and considered way. His voice completes this collection.
Mark Spray, 2022
PLEASE NOTE : IF VIEWING ON AN IPHONE, THE WHITE DOT IN THE LOWER RIGHT CORNER TURNS THE POEMS AND TITLES on/off
