Page 8 - Art First: Alexandra Haynes: The Shapes of Nature

But once something has made its way to the surface, it will recur and be experimented with
liberally. Thus when a Jef Koons’ balloon dog emerged out of a plant form, it immediately
became protagonist of the next work.

Whereas Haynes previously responded directly to the landscape, she now f nds such
unequivocal acknowledgments to be too conventional, and seeks not to be restricted
by what she sees, but to have fun juggling and juxtaposing the elements, creating works
with a lyrical quality. Whenever and wherever Haynes travels, she brings back a suitcase
full of souvenirs, found objects, which she then places on to a grid-like backdrop. Her smaller
canvases are less free f owing, more stylised–also ‘studies’, in a way–but this structure and
dialogue between components becomes apparent, particularly from one work to the next,
where subtle shifts in position or a change of colour encapsulate Haynes’ industrious hanker -
ing after achieving the right harmony. And getting it right is a precarious act, because
mistakes can scarcely be covered over. Too many layers of paint and the work loses its
freshness, becoming static–and then that canvas unsentimentally joins the pile of rejects.

Where there is some leeway, however, is in the use of highlights, to bring out the volume
of the painted objects. On top of the acrylic base colour, Haynes applies dashes and dots
of oil, using a dry brush, to create shape and depth and to capture light. The ref ections
could be of the water in the rock pool or the summer sun beating through exotic leaves.
The background colours, which are unpremeditated and ‘sometimes dictate themselves’,
add an exuberance and vivacity to the works, extolling the joys of life, the bonheur de vivre,
of her Fauvist ancestors. Certainly there are echoes of Matisse, with his cut outs and jazz
strains, his foliage and his Mediterranean beaches.

In her most recent series, Haynes has been experimenting with the addition of black
as a background, something that is surprisingly successful, drawing viewers more deeply
into the composition to f oat, weightless, as if they had stepped through the looking glass,
into a Surrealist world full of unlikely objects that have escaped their normal context.
Like Miró, Haynes seeks to balance spontaneity with a meticulous placement of forms