The Screamers - A new series of portraits from Sandra Ward
In the words of Sandra Ward:
“This project is an exploration of the different emotions that erupt in a scream.
Have you ever felt yourself screaming on the inside? Perhaps you resonate with the drowning man in TERROR. Plagued by memories that threaten to suck you into a deep vortex of pain and regret, overwhelmed by despair drowning in your own torturous thoughts and feelings.
Or maybe FRUSTRATION will put you in mind of all the times you are left hanging on a phone, talking to a Bot, press 1 for .. now 4 for .. and so, on until you run out of options and still have no resolution for your query.
Have you ever acted like you have been taken by SURPRISE with your children, or perhaps you walked into a supposed surprise party that you quietly knew was happening and performed a Surprised expression to please the crowd?
GRIEF is not an easy painting to view, the pain and anguish of loss etched on the face. The light direction giving a spiritual atmosphere a foreboding sense of death and loss. A scream at the unfairness of life and fear of being left alone.
On a lighter note there is the jubilant scream of a footballer scoring a winning goal, the aim of the game to WIN. The throbbing crowd who dictate the heroes of the game, Tough competition challenging opposition and finally the much-coveted goal. Such a heightened sense of ecstasy such an extreme high you have to yell out in triumph.
Most people have been on a rollercoaster, for some an experience not repeated for others a THRILL to feel the rush of adrenaline soar through them as they whirl around up high and drop so quickly their stomach jumps.
I’m sure it hasn’t gone unnoticed how hot a child having a temper TANTRUM can become. Their face screwed up red while emitting a high-pitched howl. If you look closely you will see hand prints in the background, a controversial touch from an age where a tantrum received a smacked bottom.
Those of you with siblings may well relate to the antagonism in SISTERS, I hope when you see it it makes you smile. Sisters can be loving one moment and tearing each other apart the next. A battle ground of territory and perceived position.
The scream of pleasure so pure and electric when experiencing an ORGASM, taking you momentarily to another place, planet universe, need I say more.
I hope you have not experienced RAGE too much in your life, if you have you may recall how intimidating it is to view and how uncontrollably frightening it is to experience. The only screamer without a wide-open mouth. The seething fury hissing between his teeth, eyes boring into you loathing and out of control.
BACKGROUND AND CREDITS
The depiction of screaming faces is nothing new in the world of Art, you will know the famous Edvard Munch painting called The Scream, 1893. An expression of how he thought the Earth and Nature felt, inspired by a blood red sunset he imagined nature screaming, an infinite scream. It is considered to be a timeless expression of human fear. It has touched so many people that it is said the heavy breathing from viewers lingering to take the painting in, has started to damage it.
Artist Francis Bacon produced the Screaming Pope, a painting that stirs the viewer maybe in an uncomfortable way. Nevertheless, a painting you cannot ignore. A powerful portrait of a duplicitous and unscrupulous Pope Innocent. A painting that creates a disquiet within us.
I hope that you feel the intended emotions in the screams I have chosen to paint. I would love to hear your views, good, bad or indifferent.
Let’s explore the psychology of screaming a little. Scientists have found that humans have six acoustically distinct screams, pain, anger, fear, joy, passion and sadness. (ref National Geographic “The Psychology of Screaming”).
We scream to express our emotions that words will not give enough release to. Sometimes to communicate to others and sometimes to let out overwhelming and powerful emotions.
Screams can be a signal for danger, a cry for help, in our brains we have an area called the Amygdala, it processes fear and is activated when we hear a scream of fear or pain, Brain scans have shown that we respond differently to fearful screams and joyful screams.
Interestingly a recent discovery found that our brains are primed to respond faster to shrieks of joy rather than howls of fear. It was found that during scans the brain would light up more effortlessly when hearing crowds at a pop concert than when it heard a bloodcurdling wail. Quite a conundrum as most mammals use screams as a warning of danger.
Children scream for more than adults; they don’t have the vocabulary to give sufficient expression to their feelings. Another interesting thing about children is that they have difficulty in identifying when they are being loud.
I would like to thank the following people
Nicky Rogers – the model for Grief
Chris Bilton – the model for Rage, also for his help in researching an appropriate reference photo for Tantrum and Thrill
Kathy Windle and Laura Biggins – the models for Sisters
Georgia Bell- the model for Orgasm
Terror and Win were the result of stock reference photos found on the internet.
The app called MUSEUM where people post photos to be used by artists. Frustration and Surprised came from this app.
Special thanks to Matt Butt, Marianne Slater, Chris Slater, Ken Horne and Carmel Ward for their helpful critique’s and practical help with setting up this exhibition.”
You can see The Screamers in Buzz gallery throughout April (open from 1st). 10am - 3pm Monday - Friday.