Reverse Archeology
I was doing my artist research when I came across a short video clip of Hughie O’Donoghue talking about painting on the RA’s website. In that, he explained his painting process as ‘archeology in reverse’ - building layers of paint as opposed to digging the layers of earth, but both trying to search for something. He also likens the process to that of a poet who makes an image of something remembered, using words, but also digging.
I reappreciate the value of research when I find something that is so relatable. Research is not just about learning what some great artists have achieved but how they got there.
At the end of the video, he says he waits for ‘alchemy to happen and SOMETIMES it happens’. Learning that even a great artist like him feeling like that gives me a glimpse of hope.
Link to the video: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/hughie-o-donoghue-ra-at-marlborough
My current reverse-archeology. I’m still waiting for alchemy to happen.