Genevieve Ongaro - Promises

We welcome Genevieve Ongaro to The Carrot Window Gallery.

“The main question behind my motivation for these works is what is the value of a promise, if not kept? What does it mean to make a promise, and why do we do it? The landscapes that I have chosen are metaphors for the in- transience of the world around us: constantly changing and shifting, yet permanent and stable. These hazy scenes are meant to evoke a sense of timelessness, and the sea is a representation of nature’s constant inconstancy, ever-changing and unpredictable, whereas the knots, built up by multitudes of tiny strokes or fibres at the mercy of time, space, and entropy, are symbols of human relationships and the promises we make. Creating the knot visually by means of small, intricate lines is an important part of how I want to illustrate these objects as entities that are both binding and incredibly fragile, delicate and at risk of unravelling.

The tension between the subject and its environment is meant to illustrate the question of whether fabrications of the human mind can in fact exist within the transience of the ubiquitous natural world. Do we make promises in an attempt to reach for transcendence from our impermanent lives? To create something that is larger than ourselves, and perhaps more beautiful and everlasting...which will live on beyond our short lives.”