Small is smart!…. my life size yet tiny tiny snail shell paintings….
Lin Barrie, Giant Land Snail Shell, 1,2 and 3, (triptych), 2023, acrylic, charcoal and earth pigment on stretched canvas, each is 20 x 20 cm,
I believe that the essence of a subject should be captured by direct observation, as in these miniature mixed media paintings on canvas, observing the minute detail, the intimacy, of an object such as a giant african land snail shell, which condensed narrative then emphasizes the bigger picture, the fuller story of this particular mollusc shell, which is the totem of the Chauke clan in the south east lowveld of Zimbabwe.
All things are connected in the bigger picture of life, and my small scale art reflects the bigger diversity and wonder, the hope inherent, the culture of storytelling (ngano) in this rural Zimbabwean world that I live in….
My musings on tiny objects such as snail shells, in the fire story Chauke Humba… bring to mind that small but potent creature, the Giant African Land Snail..and how a story about it shows its importance in the much bigger scheme of life and community….
I love observing and sketching the discarded white shells of the land snails. Wonders of creation they are, the fibonacci spiral of their mesmerising shells being a very satisfying art inspiration.
My miniature artworks reflect the power of this little creature in the bigger picture of culture.
I have used mixed media to reflect the natural earth pigments and charcoal that feature in the Chauke Humba story, (the Giant Snail Shell Totem Story)
My friend and fellow artist Johnson Zuze also uses my giant snail shells in his powerful small wire sculptures ..
Lin Barrie, “Of the land, earth and water 1, 2 and 3”, acrylic on stretched canvas, each 20 x 20 cm..
and seen here in an interior…
Of the Land, Earth and Water, triptych, is a microcosm of the bigger picture of the elemental world around us, the forces of Earth and Water that shape our environment, and this art emphasises the fact that we impact on those forces by our actions, that our small actions impact the big picture!
Our scratchings in the soil, in the earth are etched into my painting, overflowed and washed by the force of life-giving water….
In this triptych I think small, dream big….
In this triptych I act local, think global…
Lin Barrie
Lin Barrie, close view, Of the land, earth and water 1, acrylic on stretched canvas, 20 x 20 cm,
Look deep….a tiny world in every mark on the canvas, reflecting a bigger being, a larger reality…
It’s interesting to contemplate art in the palm of your hand, to “see the world in a grain of sand” (William Blake)…..
Here my snail shell holds my earth pigment as a paint palette!!… a grain of sand indeed…
Gleaned from Artnet News recently is the following:
‘Art comes in all shapes and sizes, of course—but recently it has been getting smaller. Or at least that is what is argued in an article by Kate Brown, Artnet Senior Editor and Art Angle co-host. It’s called “Why is Small Art So Big Right Now?”
Not so long ago, the trend was in the other direction. Gigantism and grandiosity were the rage, and artwork stretched to environmental scale. There’s still plenty of that, of course—don’t worry. But Kate gathers together a number of signs and talks to a number of artists and art dealers, and it all points towards a growing interest in smaller, more intimate kinds of art experiences.’
Kate Brown quotes painter Mia Middleton: “I think there is an inherent delicacy and mystery in images, which are small enough to be ‘discovered’ and intimately engaged with,” said Middleton. “There is something so luscious about painting at life’s scale.”
Here a resonant little artwork by Mia Middleton, “Mother”…. That Fibonacci spiral bound up in that coiled hair at the nape of the neck – a tiny tenderness of a painting….
The National Gallery of Zimbabwe “World in Miniature” (aka The World is Ours), exhibition is on view now in Harare, alongside “Becomings”, (the annual gallery show), and a solo exhibition by Wycliffe Mundopa titled Ibwe Rakaraswa ne Muvaki
From “Becomings”, here is a stunning view of Hugh Hatitye Mbayiwa mixed media installation that took my eye…(Hugh’s photo)
And the miniatures exhibition, “The World is Ours….” is on display in The South- East Gallery of the National Gallery…
The World is Ours, Artists exhibiting are: Ann Guild, Casmia Nyamuba, Charmaine Sanzira, Daudi Yves, Drashti Naik, Erhuardt Muchemwa, Hugh Mbayiwa, Ishmael Marimirofa, Joe Chinomona, Johnson Mugabe, Johnson Zuze, Kelli Barker, Lin Barrie, Louise Hunt, Lydia Chakuposhiwa Molai, Michael Hela, Nyasha Mutamba, Percy Manyonga, Pritchard Chirume, and Tamirirashe Zizhou.
Here are Johnson Zuze’s evocative wasp and spider wire sculptures – (using snare wire and my found giant snail shell as an abdomen stinger ..)
What a wonderful wasp- here looking out of the window at the National Gallery …looking for spiders!
And the spider -being viewed by admiring but nervous children visiting the gallery for our artist talks …!
( Fun fact: A certain ichumenid wasp hunts and paralyses spiders to lay her eggs on their bodies and bury them in earth … where the eggs hatch and consume the flesh of the unconscious spider … )
And on to my artworks – (some also incorporating my totemic giant African snail shells- )
My tiny abstract landscapes, Of the Land; Earth and Water, triptych (1, 2 and 3), (2024) are acrylic on stretched canvas, each painting in the triptych being 20 x 20 cm, seen here on the gallery wall with Evelyn, Marketing intern at the national gallery..
And wow! … packing a punch… my daughter Kelli Barker’s joyful abstracts sit vibrantly in unexpected juxtaposition -bringing a smile to Evylyn’s face!
Nyadzombe Nyampenza writes a great review in Newsday,
Other miniatures of mine, “Giant African Land Snail Shells”, hold multiple meanings and traditional stories, read on….
Art in the palm of my hand ….. this found snail shell, at the opening Georgina Maxim and Misheck Masamvu’s Village Unhu in the old Drifters Lodge Art Space, resonates with stories. These snail shells constantly inspire me and inform my own stories and my art …
The deeply resonant story behind my love of painting snail shells, behind my love of their elemental fibonacci spiral construction, lies in the fact that they are one of our inherited totems, living as I do with Clive Stockil as part of the Chauke Clan in the village of Chief Mahenye in the south East lowveld of Zimbabwe.
My giant snail shell fibonacci, pencil and kaolin in work…
Giant snail shell fibonacci, pencil, ink and kaolin..
The Chauke Humba story will be featured on our Burnt Offerings exhibition with the National Gallery of Zimbabwe at the Cultural Month Launch, Chikombedzi, 2025:
Lin and giant land snail
Fascinated by #snailshells, #earthpigments, #Fibonaccispirals, #lifepatterns I sketch with earth and ink, using a palm leaf pen… and always in my mind is the inspiring Chauke Humba legend from my Mahenye community https://wineandwilddogs.art/2023/05/28/around-the-campfire-giant-snailstradition-fire-and-totems/
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