1. Exhibition Review – Sonia Shiel
Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, 30
th
April – 30th May 2015
Sonia Shiel’s current show ‘here, while the bees are sleeping’, is made up of mostly paintings. Unlike
previous endeavors, ready-made sculptures of found material, such as cardboard and wood are
reduced, acting as a prop to the paintings. Puzzling works, they are secured within what appears to be
a theatrical setting. The outer edges offer a keyhole into an often bizarre, unsettling realm. all quiet is
a painting that perplexingly dismantles preconceived notions of narrative painting. A baluster is strewn
across the canvas, small vertical struts acting as a barrier between the viewer and the strange pose of
an opposing figure. Barely legible, her expression is unclear; her arms may be outstretched, as she
beckons light in from the outside. A strange reflection sits about her head, as if being showered by
light. She stands awkwardly between the symmetry of the divergent potted plants.
Narrative is an obvious reference to art historical painting, but Shiel doesn’t disclose her narratives
easily. The brooding atmosphere that underscores her work is difficult to pin down. Somber colour and
densely rendered backdrops create a claustrophobic situation. Echo’s of the Brothers Grimm1
comes
to mind, moral tales that were embroiled with fear. Romantic associations are hemmed in, but a grand
definitive resolve doesn’t present its self. Instead, the viewer is left hanging amid a state of perpetual
anxiety. aquatics glow is set between the enclosed dimensions of a door frame, the dramatically lit
figures engage in a unusual activity. An exchange takes place; a fishing net is secured to door handles
in an attempt to contain the catch. Behind the couple, tassels hang, penning the couple in further. The
idyllic meets with the menacing in an uncomfortable trade off.
burrows open is a play on theatrical lighting, a figure is slumped in an armchair. A blanket is placed
beneath her; it reaches out and becomes part of the set. A nervous rabbit sits motionless against a
spotlight above. Again, a suffocating air is reaffirmed, by an odd, disjointed compositional setting.
Skewed angles are articulated in the leaning balusters. This device is repeated in the moon shines, a
woman is perched on the edge of a window frame. An imperfect architrave is loosely defined, butted
against the edge of the canvas support. She stares pensively into the distance, a white rose clasped
between her fingers. Bizarrely, her legs appear to extend across the floor to the adjoining room.
Shiel’s pallet ranges from somber ochre’s, emphasized with ill creams and mawkish yellows. Interiors
are decked out in viridian, with accents of crimson hue.
an egg bursts finds a girl starring at a strangely balanced egg. Her large eyes engrossed in the
spectacle of an inflamed egg suspended mid air. A rosy face mirrors it, plump lips closed, pondering,
waiting in anticipation. Shiel’s supremely deft handling of paint is accentuated in the broad drapes of
colour. A brisk, ruddy splotch is freely smeared across the girls’ expression. cloud breaks is a
multidimensional work, a child is framed within the confines of an oval accessory, she too examines
and opens a locket. Again, a murky solid ground provides a backdrop to a baffling narrative. Planes of
orange block in her face, imitating the soft glow that is unlocked between her hands.
1
Brothers Grimm were German academics and authors who collected folklore during the 19th
century

2. Shiel has chosen to minimize her assemblages, usually from everyday discarded material. never
waking, never rousing, never seen is a tightknit narrative that binds the work together. The poetic is
responded to in each work, the titles riffing from the body of the text. Their unimposing stature echoes
the retreating final verse of the poem. Flowers materialize from never seen, anchored in a dull mound.
A wasp fumbles on it’s back in never rousing, walking the plank it decides to escape. never waking is
a assortment of foraged items, mushrooms and flower stems. The title suggestive of deep sleep, the
paraphernalia of myth and folklore, consumed toxic substance. They are placed in a curious, tarnished
wooden box, its purpose difficult resolve. Shiel examines these props and taps into a world that is part
illusory and part real. This vague elusiveness, conjures feelings of apprehension and unease.