JEFF MARTIN: The ‘Wall Series’ – Memory, Observation and Self-Identity in Art.

 

Jeff Martin’s paintings and sculptures celebrate the joyous memories of a simple unrestrained childhood. Yet at the same time the works embody the principles of a major debate, which engaged Western philosophers of the late-twentieth century. Those who attempted to re-define the nature of Self-Identity in the Modern era. In contemporary usage, the term ‘identity’ suggests that individuals recognise themselves through a shared condition or quality, be it one of race, religion, gender, sexuality, class or cultural origin. (1) According to American historian Philip Gleason, identity came into use as a popular social science term in the 1950s. At that time it was assigned not to particular racial, cultural, or sexual differences, but to ‘The Self’. Rather than suggesting a stable sense of selfhood, however, the term was often used to designate a problem – an ‘identity crisis’ or a ‘search for identity’ – stemming from the individual’s alienation in the face of an increasingly anonymous society. (2)

This newly defined ‘Identity’ was thought to be as much about the future and the past, as the present. It was described as: ‘a process which entails differentiation between the self, not-self and other’. (3) Philosophers became very fond of what became known as Identity Thinking. This concerns humankind’s reaction, when faced with the overwhelming force of structures and institutions. French philosopher Jean-François Lyotard was incensed at the injustice encountered by the individual, when confronted by the totalitarian terror generated by highly urbanised societies; declaring: ‘Let us wage a war on totality; let us be witnesses to the unpresentable’. (4)

Debate urged that identity should be re-thought: to split the traditional link between self and identity. With the self the problem of identity is solved; by offering the self an identity; the authentic self. (5) Artist Jeff Martin regards the paintings and sculptures in his Wall Series as an exercise in the observation of society in order to relate directly to the self. Previously he studied a European culture; a small fishing village on the island of Favignana, on the northwest coast of Sicily, where he documented a fast-disappearing way of life. Since Roman Times local fisherman have caught fish in what is known as the Mattanza, or ‘Death Trap’. Once a year, the fishermen harvest tuna, entrapped in kilometres of nets, by hauling the huge thrashing fish aboard their small wooden barges, using long wooden poles fixed with metal gaffs. Martin began his observations of the village people and this lifestyle in 1999; witnessing environmental change causing social change when tourism began to replace tradition. These visits to Sicily resulted in the Favignana Series, exhibited at Melbourne’s Brightspace Gallery during 2004. The entire show sold. He firmly believes that this initial success underpins his current exhibition. The artist insists that the Wall Series is not a radical departure from his Sicilian works, but rather a calculated move from observing a whole culture to a concentrated study of the self.

Upon first viewing; the isolated figures in a schoolyard-like setting appear dark and full of urban alienation. However the artist is adamant there are no sinister connotations in his work. (6) The black shadows on the ground are not intended to disturb; but are positioned by the artist: ‘to make the viewer’s imagination dance’. (7) They are full of the purity and uncomplicated nature of a happy childhood. During his own formative years, Jeff Martin travelled a great deal, attending fourteen different schools; where he adopted the role of the detached observer in order to survive. To him these imposing painted and sculpted walls hold enormous significance. They represent institution, society, rules and conformity. A world of walls which, at first, appear immoveable and impenetrable, but which, ultimately, can force the individual: ‘to find a way around’. (8)

The artist is also insistent that the viewer must read his works according to their own life experiences and arrive at a more personal interpretation. Likewise, Martin claims that the figures depicted are not strictly children, but ‘creatures’ in his imaginative walled world of self-evaluation and discovery. In a sense, he adds, the figures are really incidental. It is the wall which is all important. (9) Some of the works display abstract crosses on them; biblical references which played an important role in Jeff Martin’s early life.

Supported by artist friends David Larwill and Lewis Miller, Martin discovered the only real constant in his life was art. As Larwill simply, yet wisely, advised: ‘It doesn’t paint itself. You need to work at it every day’. So while Jeff Martin believes art is about love, emotion, visual communication and even playful distraction, he firmly believes that his own images can only be realized when they have passed through a cauldron-like process of artistic practice. An approach which he insists must be uncompromising, until the final works are achieved. When one views these paintings and bronzes it would seem that the rapture of childhood may have thwarted the insensitive debate of philosophy.

Stephen F. Mead.

End Notes:

• Richard Meyer, ‘Identity’ in Critical terms for art and history, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2003, p. 345.
• ibid.
• Juliet Steyn (ed), ‘Introduction’ in Other than identity: the subject, politics and art, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1997, p. 1.
• Jean François Lyotard in Steyn, p. 2.
• Andrew Benjamin, ‘Figuring self-identity’ in Steyn, p. 9.
• Interview conducted with the artist at his Appleton Street Studios, Melbourne, on 13 th February, 2007.
• ibid.
• ibid.
• ibid.