Judy Woodborne began working on a series of oil paintings and prints that were inspired by the elements of earth, fire, air and water a number of years ago. Persephone’s Garden is an extension of this series, based on the element of water. To her, these paintings represent a visual mediation, a restful moment of contemplation and tranquillity.
Judy says: “In the water-lily series, I have depicted ponds with reflected light and shadow, images of above and below. In many cultures, the image of the lotus flower (water lily) is a sacred symbol with complex meanings, most pertinently that of birth and re-birth. It is also representative of spiritual flowering of knowledge that can lead to the state of awakening. The lotus bud rising from the muddy pond of primeval waters to the surface is also a metaphor for cosmic creation and spiritual unfolding. The blue lotus is considered more sacred than the white and a symbol for modesty and cleanliness in Chinese Buddhism.
Hayden Proud, curator of Iziko Museum called my work symbolist, in an opening address he wrote for an earlier exhibition. This exhibition of work is an example of such; my interpretation and representation of water is symbolic of the creative unconscious, of chaos and of the ebb and flow of life that we are born into - the "water of life". The fluidity of water is also symbolic of the fluidity of time, of birth and death and perpetual re-incarnation of the human soul.”
According to Greek mythology, Persephone was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. In the Eleusinian Mysteries, Persephone is captured by Hades and taken to the Underworld. In her grief at losing her daughter, Demeter stops the crops from growing and famine threatens human existence. As a compromise, Zeus persuades Hades to return Persephone, but not before she has eaten pomegranate seeds from the Underworld. Thus Persephone is forced to return to Hades every year mediating between life above the Earth and the Underworld. In her absence, the earth above endures the winter season, a fallow season before the promise of spring, rejuvenation and re-growth.
Judy Woodborne is an artist/printmaker who graduated with a Master’s Degree in 1993, awarded with distinction from the University of Cape Town. She has taken part in a number of International Print Biennales and has held several solo exhibitions, both in South Africa and abroad. Her works are represented in major public collections in South Africa, including the SA National Gallery, as well as collections at the Smithsonian Institute, USA, Musee d’Art Contemporain of Chamalieres, France and the Muzeum Narodowe W Warszawie, Poland.
She has taken part in a number of printmaking exchange programs and has been a resident artist at the Grafische Werkstatt im Traklhaus, Salzburg Austria. Judy was invited to produce an exhibition of paintings for the Klein Karroo Kunsfees as Festival Artist in 2007. Since then she has held a number of solo exhibitions of her paintings which have been very well received.
