Patricia Wheeler

PATRICIA WHEELER: ARTIST STATEMENT 2020/21

 THE YEAR OF POPPIES  ( A TIME OF TROUBLES)

APOPTOSIS: ap·op·to·sis: the death of cells which occurs as a normal and controlled part of an organism's growth or development).

Last winter I was making small works on paper  based on the words from an L.A. Farmer.  Each order of fresh vegetables contained field notes from the farmer. I found them fascinating.  Here are excerpts. “ When a good wind storm begins, I generally sleep very lightly.....In bed I wonder what is going on in the fields.”  “ I have learned a great deal of lessons from the wind. It has taught me to water transplants twice, maybe three times a day when it is in force...”   “ It has changed where I park my pick-up.” As we became isolated by the Corona virus, my work changed. The farm which had been a symbol for the Field Notes series of 2020 become instead a symbol of home in the distance. Covid 19 has shaken us as a nation, but the recent insurrection at the nations Capitol and the acquittal of Donald Trump has forever changed the way we see our world.  In the study of history, Arnold Toynbee points out :  “Societies gain access to new energies and new directions only after a  “time of troubles” initiates a process of disintegration wherein the old order comes apart. .. He showed how often the new orientation is made clear only after what he calls a “withdrawal and return” on the part of individuals or creative minorities within the society. The crucial change takes place in some in-between state or outside the margin of ordinary life…”