In the original entry in this series, we
touched on Wallace's unusual use of gesso in the early stages of preparing his
canvasses. Gesso is blend of white paint mixed with chalk, and in most
cases is used as a primer, adding a thick, even layer to the canvas before the
process of painting itself begins.
In his work with the highly
textured materials of his sculptural surrounds, Wallace found himself
inspired to consider the canvas's surface in a similar way. He began
experimenting with the use of gesso to inscribe contoured images directly onto
the canvas. "I started to depart from the traditional way of priming a
canvas, and instead began to think of the primer, the gesso, as a means to
impart movement, texture and imagery that would be buried underneath the paint.”
“I found this to be a very
meditative process, and it's one which has become a part of my understanding of
the painting even before it has begun. The texture is barely visible when the
painting is complete. In this way, I am fetishising the work in
the historical sense of the word: the laying down of this scribed image,
scratched into the primer, with the knowledge that the paint will obscure it.
The marks become like ghost images laying underneath the painting, underpinning
its entire creation."
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