Naissance II 2021

Editor: Mary Jane Ansell's "Naissance II," painted in 2021, is rendered with oil paint, and there is something immediately striking in its fusion of romantic portraiture and slightly surreal imagery. The central figure almost seems suspended between worlds. What do you make of this captivating scene? Curator: It’s as though Ansell has bottled a dream, hasn't she? The realism of the young woman holding the seashell is stark, yet it bleeds into a hazy backdrop of classical figures and crashing waves. To me, this isn't just a portrait, it's a meditation on memory. On what we carry from the past into our present. See how the seagull in the background mimics the angel wings? Are they memories, aspirations, or even burdens, do you think? Editor: I never noticed the connection with the angel wings. Burdens, maybe. There's a slight melancholy to her gaze. As if she’s grappling with something just out of reach. The seashell in her hand almost feels like a fragile link to the chaotic scene behind her. Curator: Exactly! And that, I suspect, is the 'naissance'—not merely birth, but the ongoing act of becoming. The self is a layered landscape and a seascape – both. Perhaps she is the archetypal Venus, born of sea foam and self-possession, in the same instant? Editor: So it becomes not just about physical birth, but about the continuous rebirth of the self. The painting creates a fascinating dialogue between vulnerability and strength. Curator: It invites us to reflect on our own layered landscapes. Thanks for pointing that out! Every viewing is like another ripple in Ansell's imaginative waters. Editor: Thanks. It really highlights how art helps us see old ideas in completely new light.