Humans have an almost universal connection with nature. Immersed in it, we become grounded to a more basic force. Watching a night sky filled with stars or standing at the ocean gazing at the horizon can be moments of sublime enlightenment. Emotional responses to the landscape have long been romanticised as metaphors for the human spirit.

Mushenko’s practice explores the landscape as visual poetry speaking to us in emotional terms. Abstracted forms trigger a feeling above a recognition of form or subject matter. Elements of light and dark, colour and form in the portrayal of water and sky are read in a personal way by each viewer.

This body of work aims to introduce the elements of harmony, creating a depth and a resonance to the images (just as chords in music add an emotional context to the melody).  Mushenko has toned the colour of the shadows and highlights of an image in values representative of a perfect fifth chord. The image is then repeated with successive plates showing a progression of ‘chords’. To Mushenko, the work becomes the notation of a song of pleasure and pain; love and loss.

© 2016