Aaron Soleci opened at Face Frames Gallery on Tuesday 6th December 2016 with SOLCECISM, his first Gibraltar solo exhibition. The word Solecism has two definitions: a grammatical error or a mistake in behaviour. Soleci has used this theme to produce work of a unique and experimental nature.
Starting with a light pencil grid on card, there is a moment of meditative contemplation that precedes each process, as a radio would scan across frequencies in search of messages to be delivered- he then proceeds to create a set of self-contained elemental images that synergise into a whole.
The exhibition comprises two sections: a collection of works and the Solecisms, produced exclusively for the Face Frames Gallery exhibition. The initial inspiration for the project began whilst Soleci was reading a large amount of text for a different project:
“I wasn’t sure if I was internalising the information, so I began experimenting with grids to see if I could incorporate the information in pictorial form. Funnily enough, the experiment for a different project opened a door for the Solecism project.’’
THE INDELIBLE NATURE OF BEHAVIOUR: The drawings were done directly onto board, with nothing erased, no second takes or revisions. This direct approach in creating mirrors the final and indelible nature of behaviour, through which we create and define ourselves. Drawing commences and the process is simultaneously both measured and spontaneous:
“The consequence of a situation, which was once within your control, is now out of your control, there’s no changing the past, so learn from it and move on.”
Soleci tackles this approach with one precondition: the grid, which is set before each drawing commences by drawing light pencilled straight symmetrical lines on paper or canvas. The constriction of the grid steers the artist towards creative possibilities which may be left otherwise unexplored when using a blank canvas; and such is the nature of routine and structure of our habitual lives:
‘’The grid becomes like a mandala or knitting or a jigsaw because it involves concentration and awareness, which is therapeutic. Filling in the grids becomes a journey of how I interpret things. Also, the smaller format grids take two to three full days to complete and doing Art full-time, I also wanted to make something which is laboured and which reflects the parallels of working life and the commitment in time which people in employment fulfil.”
There has been a true development of ideas for this intended exhibition. Starting with pencil, to pen, to Indian ink and finally with paint, one example is in the application of colour prior to drawing. Initially, experiments were done by painting on top of the finished drawings; however Soleci explains that applying colour before the drawing helped with composition, as opposed to colouring in shapes already defined. Once it has arrived, it is finished. For Soleci, the problem of finishing a painting, which is a common problem for artists across the spectrum, is one that needed to be resolved. Often over working and eventually destroying a piece, Soleci asks:
‘’When is a piece finished? The answer is when you arrive at something fresh, not when you depart from it’.”
The film Waking Life includes the quote: ‘’The trick is to remain in a constant state of departure while always arriving.” The Solecisms bear the significance of this in that one square feeds another, with Soleci keeping a fresh mind, experimenting and never being bogged down with one idea or one style. The artist’s thoughts turn into images, which create thoughts, which turn into more images, which in turn render a unique narrative. Interestingly, there is a painting from one of the waking life characters in the exhibition.
A NEW ‘ISM’: There are lots of ‘’isms’’ in art history (impressionism, fauvism, neo- classism, expressionism, realism, the list goes on) and Solecism is adding an ‘ism’, which for Soleci remains as ambitious as it is tongue in cheek.
‘’There are not so many movements any more, things are more free though there is always a need to pigeon hole and define and this is my way of also having some fun’’.
Any individual willing to can explore completing a Solecism. In ‘’The Artist’s Way’’ by Julia Cameron (a book on unlocking creative block), students are encouraged to write three pages of unplanned, free writing done by hand every morning. For Soleci, working spontaneously and directly was a way of exploring this approach in a more visual form. There is a start and an end, but anyone who completes a Solecism will know when the un-edited blocks are filled in- like a game with one’s mind. The process is slow, measured and open and priority is given to the narratives that the artist feels necessary to express. Beginning one square at a time, moving on to the next one, one never knows what is going to happen or what the final result will be.
Finally, Soleci would like to continue to explore the Solecisms outside the studio, in murals and artist residency programmes abroad. Please contact Face Frames Gallery for more information or for a commission.