Industrial Cathedral

Industrial Cathedral
"Industrial Cathedral" charcoal on paper 131 x 131 cm Jane Bennett. Finalist in 1998 Dobell Drawing Prize Art Gallery of NSW Finalist 1998 Blake Prize Winner 1998 Hunter's Hill Open Art Prize

About Me

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Sydney, NSW, Australia
I'm an Industrial Heritage Artist who paints "en plein air".If it's damaged, derelict, doomed and about to disappear, I'll be there to paint it.
Showing posts with label Dunlop-Slazenger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dunlop-Slazenger. Show all posts

Wednesday 24 June 2015

Illuminated manuscripts and stained glass windows- Painting the Dunlop - Slazenger factory Part 2

The graffiti inside the abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory reminded me of something, but I couldn't quite remember what it was.
plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory
Soda panorama' 2015
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
 

Enquiries
The walls are rich in texture, vibrant in colour and elaborate in detail.
They are possibly full of hidden meanings, incomprehensible to the uninitiated, or it could be just random doodling.

plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory
Soda panorama' 2015
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
 

Enquiries
The calligraphy is cursive and the chunky letters are interlocked like links in a chain, making the words hard to read yet hypnotic to look at.

plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
 

Enquiries
There is a "horror vacui" - blank space isn't tolerated and won't last long.
Images are scattered throughout the factory, but the text dominates and has become imagery in its own right.

plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
 

Enquiries
The letters are outlined in black, often with highlights of white or red on the ascenders (the parts of letters such as "h" "b" or "d" that extend above the line)  or descenders (the parts of letters such as "g" "q" or "j" that extend below the line).
Occasionally backgrounds of gold or silver add a bit more bling and some are even adorned with star bursts.
plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
John Paul, the demolisher who had given me the heads up about the site, finally nailed it.
The Book of Kells, he said. (John Paul is Irish!)
To be sure, to be sure!
plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
 Detail of 'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
 

Enquiries
This is a close up of my painting of the graffiti on left hand wall, and you can see that John Paul really had a point.
In another context, I could easily imagine one of the letters as a historiated initial in a medieval illuminated manuscript.
A historiated initial is an enlarged letter at the beginning of a text, which contains a picture.
plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Detail of 'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
 

Enquiries
This is a closeup detail of my painting of the graffiti in one of the small rooms to the left hand side.
This font is dramatically serif (there is a large difference between thick and thin lines) and is extravagantly embellished with finials( tapered or curved ends), swashes (extended  decorative flourishes)and lachrymals (teardrop shapes).
plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
 Detail of 'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory
'Soda' panorama'  2015  oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
 

Enquiries 
Many different hands have been at work here, overlapping and adding marginalia, drolleries and the odd obscenity.
 "Soda" has been written in a more "slab serif" style, where there is less difference between thick and thin lines.
This tag stands out from its neighbours due to its cleaner font as well as its striking silver, black and pink colour scheme.
plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
 Detail of windows in 'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory
- 'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm
 

Enquiries
And what could go better with illuminated manuscripts, than stained glass windows?
These windows are very stained indeed.
The graffiti is probably much older than on the walls, as they would have only been accessible when the building still had a roof, which was at least a couple of years ago.
There is no lead separating the colours, however, being a factory, the windows were made from glass strengthened by an internal diamond grid of wiremesh. Breaks in the glass add spiderweb patterns.
plein air painting of graffiti in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
 'Soda' panorama'   2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm                                       
Enquiries
 

At sunset the window colours are reflected on the ground in a series of rainbows, an effect I last experienced visiting Chartres cathedral.

Related posts


Thursday 28 May 2015

Palimpsest- Painting the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger Factory

A palimpsest is a manuscript or piece of writing material on which later writing has been superimposed on effaced earlier writing.
The word is also used for something worked upon for one purpose and later reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form.
I've recently been painting both inside and outside the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory in Alexandria.
It has been abandoned for about 25 years, and has innumerable layers of graffiti ranging from the sublimely talented to the ridiculously inept.
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory





















 
The walls of the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger Factory are a palimpsest - a fascinating mix of both creation and destruction.
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned
Dunlop-Slazenger factory
29-04-15 Starting my first canvas of the Dunlop-Slazenger factory. I don't know what the image is of or what it's called, so I've christened it "Yellow Eye".

Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned
Dunlop-Slazenger factory















 

It's an insight into the way different generations alter the landscape of their ancestors.
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory






















 The factory is full of ghosts.
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory






















On the second day of painting this canvas, I changed the composition to include the bizarre cartoon characters on the upper walls.
There is a grotesque creature which is part baboon part wildebeast and part crocodile with wriggling worm-like hair, and two characters resembling demonic smurfs.
The glass has also been tagged, and the rays of the setting sun make it light up like the stained glass of Chartres cathedral.
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned
Dunlop-Slazenger factory












 
 
The building is now being sand-blasted back to the original brick and will be redeveloped for apartments.
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned
Dunlop-Slazenger factory












 
 
Such is progress, alas.
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned
Dunlop-Slazenger factory












 
 
My extremely fashionable painting outfit. Lady Gaga will be copying this soon!
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting "Yellow Eye" oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
in the abandoned
Dunlop-Slazenger factory












 
 
Painting in PPE (Personal protective equipment)
Plein air oil painting in the abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
DS3 'Greeblies' -
Abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory'
2015 oil on canvas 122 x 122cm
 






















 
 
Related posts

Illuminated manuscripts and stained glass windows- Painting the Dunlop - Slazenger factory Part 2