Veiled Distances ,2014
Notes : Jake Aikman’s large-scale painting Veiled Distances presents an impression of an ethereal reality and an immediate, almost palpable sense of mystery. Like the Romantic painters of the early nineteenth century, Aikman subjects the viewer to the overwhelming magnitude of nature: its peaceful beauty, silence and powerful unpredictability. The impressive view of a remote seascape with an outcrop of land in the distance is not essentially dramatic, but more contemplative, as it evokes a feeling of the Sublime.Aikman painted Veiled Distances in early 2014 to present at the Cape Town Art Fair. This compelling work followed on from a new series of paintings he produced for his 2013 solo exhibition At the Quiet Limit, in which he first introduced views of landforms in his iconic seascapes. Aikman derives the imagery for his paintings from photographs and film stills drawn from popular media and his personal archives, particularly from his travels to remote locales including Nicaragua, Indonesia and Southern Africa. He extracts and dislocates these images from their primary origin, translating their realism into atmospheric and sensory scenes that simultaneously captivate and, despite their tranquil and serene ‘veil’, offer a challenge.
The location depicted in Veiled Distances is non-specific, geographically indistinct and cannot be physically encountered. “It is not a direct reflection of reality or painted from first-hand experience, but is experience deferred, or experience by proxy, or simply experience imagined” (2013:10)[i]. The ominous scene does not present a definitive narrative, instead the viewer is kept in suspense. The absence of human presence is intentional while the restricted colour palette adds emotional effect. The subtle variations of tone and green hues ultimately imbue the painting with a seductive grace. By revealing as little as possible, Aikman encourages the viewer to explore this scene personally, privately and on one’s own terms – “to ponder the truth of the encounter with the work and the feelings it elicits” (2013:10)[ii].
Marelize van Zyl
