“Relentless Years”

John Marin

15 August – 6 September 2020

One of life’s most fundamental realities is its transient nature: it is but a passing state which progresses in phases of birth, growth, deterioration and decay. Only the cycle of these stages remains unchanging as all life forms emerge and depart in a constant succession. We come face-to-face with such impermanence whenever we lose our loved ones, and it resonates in our collective consciousness in times of calamities and natural disasters. Despite tremendous advances in improving health conditions and prolonging life expectancies, along with mastering the environment through science and technology over time, every now and then there would be catastrophic events that make us recall the transitory essence of human life and the ultimate futility of efforts to alter or reverse such natural process.

The works in this solo exhibition by John Marin intimate life along such line of thought and confront some of its stark realities. Inspired by imagery drawn from volcanic eruption and bushfires—natural events that transpired and made headlines this year—he juxtaposes visions of death and destruction with life and the struggle for survival. A collection of trees is set against hazy and clear backgrounds, contrasting life endangered by chaos and thriving in calm. Almost distilled in silhouettes, he frames diverse trees in varying moments of their lifespan, some lush and robust as others shed their leaves and wither. In one work, a dog scavenges for scraps and bares the instinct to withstand harsh challenges and resist the brink of nonexistence. A huge bonfire consuming a pile of objects in another work dramatically stages a process of disposing waste, configuring a scene similar to a funeral pyre that bestows a final rite to the remains of the departed. Views of fields blanketed with blossoms at daytime and filled with burial pits on a moonlit night allude to the idea of the ground as a site where life’s beginning and end coincide.

These images suggest the grim but inevitable destiny of all beginnings fading and eventually coming to an end. Such imprint of ephemera evoked by the works, however, does not render the experience of life meaningless. Acceptance of this basic fact of life may ease the fear and burden that haunt us whenever nature takes its course. The transitory nature of being may remind us to appreciate its fleeting moments and seize opportunities, to remain steadfast even in relentless years, and cope with the hard times better. Embedded in these patterns of loss and gain, abundance and scarcity, living and dying, is an ever hopeful stance to start anew amid the perils of this journey.

Curated by Ryan Francis Reyes

The Working Animals Art Projects (TWA)