Michelle Hanlin's exhibition, 'Ledge Would Alabaster' presents a series of paintings that takes its title from a poetic play on words derived from Wedgewood porcelain and classical architectural elements, such as ledges, niches, archways, along with the bas relief 'alabaster' sculptural forms that inhabit them. Hanlin constructs her images in a field of memory and invention, drawing inspiration from inherited and acquired objects that filter through the peripheral vision of her imaginative subconscious.
Hanlin's paintings evoke ideas of form etched into memory and invented images presented in vibrant new relationships. Objects with various histories form new meanings in the psyche. Some of her paintings have sculptural elements embedded in quasi-architectural environments like grottoes or tableaux, interacting, perhaps looking out to a new kind of existence. Hanlin uses the spatial logic of emblems, fabric design and the theatre set to create a stage for a reality of condensed but abstracted meaning.
For Hanlin, the germ of an idea might come from a vintage souvenir tea towel depicting Grecian ruins or a kitsch figurine. Hanlin responds to the faded colours and worn quality of these things. Like architectural ruins, their utility is lost to a kind of aesthetic beauty, and within her work, these forms become dreamlike effigies.
Michelle Hanlin
Opening 2021
vinyl and acrylic on canvas
35.5 × 46 × 2 cm
Michelle Hanlin
Twilight 2021
vinyl and acrylic paint on canvas
35.5 × 46 × 2 cm
Michelle Hanlin
Tartan Picnic 2021
vinyl and acrylic paint on canvas
35.5 × 46 × 2 cm
Michelle Hanlin
Education 2021
vinyl and acrylic paint on canvas
35.5 × 46 × 2 cm
Michelle Hanlin
Alcove 2021
Vinyl paint on canvas
83.5 × 83.5 cm
Michelle Hanlin
Textile design - Wallpaper 2021
Vinyl paint on canvas
61.5 × 31.1 × 2.6 cm
Michelle Hanlin
Offering 2021
vinyl and acrylic on canvas
112 × 84 cm
Michelle Hanlin
Oyster 2021
vinyl and acrylic paint on canvas
25.7 × 25.5 × 2 cm
Michelle Hanlin
Graves and Caves 2021
vinyl paint on canvas
56 × 56.2 × 2.3 cm
Michelle Hanlin
Rave Cave 2021
vinyl and acrylic paint on canvas
38.7 × 38.9 × 2.6 cm
Michelle Hanlin
Textile design - Tea Towel 2021
vinyl paint on canvas
71 × 56.4 × 2.6 cm
Michelle Hanlin
Sail Through 2021
vinyl paint on canvas
61.8 × 46.3 × 2.6 cm
Michelle Hanlin
Textile design - Souvenir 2021
vinyl paint on canvas
101.5 × 137.5 × 3.7 cm
Michelle Hanlin
Textile design - Wall Hanging 2021
vinyl paint on canvas
66.5 × 36.3 × 2.8 cm
Michelle Hanlin
Painting for Ceremony 2021
vinyl paint on canvas
84 × 46 × 2.6 cm
