Remains, commissioned by The Elmet Trust

© Alan O'Cain

(thanks for dropping in)

Remains ~ HOVER TO DISCOVER

2008

85 x 64cm

acrylic, sand, ash, wax crayon and ink on board
(commissioned by The Elmet Trust to celebrate the legacy of Ted Hughes in Mytholmroyd)

: The Lock of Hair
The pointed black brushstroke at the top of the composition symbolises Hughes' own hairstyle. Hughes was recognisable by the strand of hair hanging down on his forehead. Here we see it as it might appear to Hughes himself, were he looking out through his own adult eyes and beyond the lock towards the past and his colourful childhood.; Scout Rock
Scout Rock is depicted in the painting as a high ridge, blocking the view of everything lying beyond. The ridge hangs above Mytholmroyd and in Ted Hughes' childhood was treeless and blackened with soot. In the painting the ridge is a jagged line cutting through the picture plane. The multicoloured squares represent the distinctive square stones used in Mytholmroyd's old houses and buildings, here made unrealistically colourful, representing childish cheerfulness or even brightly painted cloth.; The Skylight
The bright shape in the top right of the composition represents the skylight in the attic bedroom of Ted Hughes' childhood home. This window gave the only south-facing view from the house. For Hughes it was a window onto a dreamworld beyond Mytholmroyd and Scout Rock. An impasto right angle of yellow paint has been laid on to catch the light, and has been likened by some to a goalpost, perhaps alluding to the Hughes poem Football at Slack.; The Writing
"AO woz 'ere 2008" is the artist's signature. Other writing in the painting quotes official notices from the derelict (and now demolished) Oxenhope Moor Laboratories, reinterpreted as grafitti. Also, the warnings could be applied to Hughes himself. He could be the buildings, and might be dangerous to know. Certainly Hughes had a tempestuous early life, and his poetry is suffused with images of raw and violent nature.; The Man
The male figure in the picture is painted with childlike simplicity. Hair is scribbled on roughly in a style similar to the one Ted Hughes had throughout his life. The eyes are large and far-seeing, but oddly-coloured - giving him perhaps an unusual view on the world. The figure could be Ted Hughes himself, or may be "The Iron Man" one of Hughes' most famous creations. He is a commanding physical presence, as Hughes was said to be, and stares out at us challengingly from the composition.; The Buildings

The lattice-work tower is based on the laboratory buildings (now demolished) on Oxenhope Moor, as are the green iron window grilles and the galaxy-shaped oval of ash, which depicts a satellite dish. Hughes spent much of his National Service at a remote radio listening post in East Yorkshire. Whilst there he passed the time reading poetry and Shakespeare. The dish could represent Hughes listening out, or ourselves straining to contact him through his poetry across a gulf of space and time.; The Scissors
The scissors in the painting are created using flowing, sinuous organic shapes, which mirror the landscape of hills and valleys in Calderdale. Also, they are painted dark red (and textured with sand) to mimic rust. They represent the cutting of cloth in the now-lost Calder Valley textile industry, and the severing of relationships between man and woman - something experienced by Ted Hughes in his early life. In the poem Daffodils (in Birthday Letters) Hughes ends with a vision of rusted scissors, "a cross of rust", sinking year-by-year into the soil.; The Woman
The female figure looks away from the male figure and gazes sideways out of the picture. She is at the edge of the composition, eclipsed by the dominant presence of the man. She appears thoughtful and is cut off from him (almost literally) by the rusted scissors. This figure represents many of the women in Ted Hughes' life, and also the archetypical Mother Earth Goddess, a central concept in several of Hughes' poems. The figure is created from empty space: formed from a shape in which the underpainting of the work has been allowed to show through. She represents fragility, both of relationships and of the planet Earth. The woman's profile is inspired by Cranach: "if I were asked for my favourite painter I think I would say Cranach. Calder Valley foliage always seems to me a model for Cranach's", said Hughes.; The Crow
Ted Hughes is well known for his series of poems called Crow. For some a crow (and sometimes a hawk, or fox) is a symbol of Hughes himself, and mysteriously this crow-like shape appeared in the painting by accident - purely as the result of painting the pair of scissors. Mystical or shamanistic elements are a key part of Hughes' writing, and it seems fitting this bird-shape should appear by chance in the work. Interestingly, as the artist was adding the painting's final touches, a kestrel flew directly to his window, and whilst presenting the painting to The Elmet Trust a fox - unusually - was seen walking along Mytholmroyd's main road.; Bright Colours
Calderdale's colours are predominantly muted and sombre, yet the valley's spirit is one of friendliness and light. The painting uses warm reds and rainbow hues as a child might, freed from a drive to mimic visual reality. Using bright colour to create mood or find different ways to represent the world was pioneered in the early twentieth century by painters such as the Fauves and Matisse. The overwhelming colour here is red and any number of reasons could be given why (all of them correct according to the artist!).