Magazine girl in a jar Painting

My aim for this series is to record a range of people placed within jars and bottles from - the unknown, to the acquaintance, to the work colleague, to the friend of a friend, to close friends, then finally to family. This recording is partially in relation to what counsellors refer to as – ‘The wheel of Trust’. For those who are not familiar with this, one is asked to place your name in the centre of a series of circular rings. On these rings you place the people you know and are dealing with at the time. Generally you place the people you trust and love closer to you and as the rings go further out so do the people whereby the trust /respect become weaker. At times these names may move closer or further away according to circumstance and time. I say partially because the jars themselves are representing a shield of trust. It’s rather like placing a jar over an insect that you are immediately fearful of and want to contain until you decide what to do with it. (Although I am in no way referring to the people I have chosen to be insects) but rather referring to the time taken to contemplate if the people are friend or foe, a time given to enable to listen to ones feelings. Also the strings which hold the jars and bottles are suspended in front of a groundless background thus, leaving a question of trust. Who or what is holding them there and why? What is beyond? Will they be let go or withheld? This holding is also represented in a preserving quality. Preserving people not only in paint and on canvas or linen but in jars and bottles to be observed, questioned and perhaps revered for later generations. The Magazine girl is the first of the series. She exists, but is unknown to me. I know her only by sight. I have taken her from her glossy magazine page and placed her in a different context. She is very distant to me and would be placed on an outer ring of my wheel of trust.