The series of three collages came out of nowhere telling stories of human dysfunction and every day madness. For a long time the surreal element in Ingrid’s work had been grumbling underground and it emerged unexpectedly when she moved to a new studio in January. New surroundings ignited a chain reaction that opened up an undercover surreal fantasy world . A land where cheese (to be specific, smoked Austrian cheddar found on a 1960 cheeseboard, most likely in an English boarding house) is mysteriously perching on top of a bedroom door, but at the end of the day such practicalities that life throws at us are overshadowed by the more pressing matters of what’s for tea,”where’s my stew? “ The wonders and mysteries that are all around us are swallowed up by the ceaseless conversations in the mind. Presence is a popular concept in this crazy world we live in now but hardly any of us actually do it. We’re too busy worrying about the stew .
Surreal cats and Shiba Inu dogs pop out to make fun of us and Venetian noblemen and ghosts of our past look on in judgement.
“Saturday night is spaghetti night, this is The Voice” is a celebration of Saturday night in at home in the suburbs. The intellectual figures suffer in silence as the cosy home resounds with the screams and shouts of Will I Am and other celebrities entertaining the populace while they stuff their faces with spaghetti.
“Everyday problems of separation” depicts the strange practical worlds inhabited when you find yourself alone, pot noodle for dinner, overflowing baths, cupboards with only jars of mustard, with the ever present judges and jury watching on.
These three works all began in collage form, then were developed into full-scale ink drawings 1.5 metres wide. They were then painted in oils.
The large scale ink drawing of cheese on the door, is on show at the Mall Gallery from July 4 to 14 as part of the annual Royal Society of British Artists exhibition.
