There is a word in German which is quite thought provoking when heard through my english ears:
“Zeitraum”
Zeit = Time
Raum = Room
So that makes ….. T I M E R O O M….. a room, for time!
“Zeitraum” is translated simply as “period” or “span” or “lapse”, but it has inspired in me a much more expansive definition.
In the English language, we think of the word “period” to mean the time between two points in time, however, I read somewhere that “Zeitraum” means the time between two points in SPACE….. It’s quite mind blowing if you think about it, which I have been.
“Zeitraum” got me thinking about the head-space that time spent traveling from A-B can give us. Time to read, time to stare out of the window, time to process the past or ponder the future, time just to be.
I met my love during one such “Zeitraum” and that meeting has led to many more journeys from A – B, quite specifically from Azille to Berlin, and back again.
My “commute” from the studio in Berlin down to Azille, France for annual exhibitions entails two blissful days of driving where no other activity possible and with nothing to focus on but the road. It has become an open-eyed meditation of letting thoughts bubble up and away and absorbing the beauty of the passing landscapes with gratitude.
Held in balance, certain opposites create interesting tensions within a painting. In this body of work we experience;
the stillness of sitting in the driving seat, hurtling down the autobahn,
the sunrise exploding over and through the concrete and glass,
the quiet excitement of being on an adventure,
anticipation and contentment.
Here we touch the moment of release when the mind moves from high-focus-work-mode into the more open state of appreciation, we feel the opening of the heart that happens when we acknowledge something beautiful.
My personal definition of “Zeitraum” has become: A room without walls, a loosely bound container for expansive thoughts and emotions, defined only by the time we allow for it.
Smile.
It is appropriate that I am sitting on a train as I write this next to my love, who has just tapped my arm to show me the light caught up in the clouds.
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The exhibition opens on 1st November 2019 at Gallery Inspiré, 5 rue de Grippis, Azille France and runs until 25th January. Please check with the gallery for opening times. Call +33 6 42 68 42 35.
