Not an Art Critic's Art Review: Kirsty Porter's Metaphors at The White Room Co.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the opening night of Metpahors by Kirsty Porter at The White Room Co.  I’m always a sucker for an event with free wine and nibbles but Kirsty and her art definitely had the most pulling power in getting me there.  I’ve had quite a long love affair with Kirsty’s work and knew what to expect from her exhibition.

As usual there were an eclectic range of people milling about eagerly with no pompous stuffiness to be seen.  A top notch welcome from a gallery worker who immediately met my needs with a swiftly delivered glass of red was appreciated and a great way to start.

Drinking wine and immersing myself in Kirsty’s art is a pretty fabulous experience.  I’m such an amateur when it comes to describing arty things that I don’t even have the right terms to use to describe it.  The quality is ethereal, like a dream that Kirsty as a female BFG has caught and splashed on to paper instead of screwing into a jar.

There are no sharp lines, and no stories to steer the viewers understanding in a certain direction.  In fact the cryptic one line titles (or are they captions) scrawled by Kirsty’s cursive hand in pencil offer simply more questions than answers.  Being a story teller myself I want to know more and I always ask- but Kirsty is teasingly vague.  I feel like she’s blown a lungful of colourful smoke in my face that’s put me into a dream where I get to choose the rest of the journey.

However, after being more insistent on an explanation, Kirsty gave me a brain punching run down using words that made me tremble in fear and awe.  Now I realise why she rarely tries to explain herself, she is a true artistic genius trying to talk to – in my case- just a total idiot.  She used words like ‘ephemera, slippage, the butterfly effect, iteration...” and so on.  I’ve had to take some time to digest her words and try to figure out what she’s saying.  I think basically she’s saying that she truly wants people to see what they see from their own point of reference and not from a structurally or culturally defined view point.  She makes the point perfectly here : “...just because I think breakfast when I see beans doesn’t mean others will”.

I really admire Kirsty, apart from her many other amazing qualities she is a most humble artist that invites you to make what you want of her art, and it seems to me to be open, ego-less, inclusive, art.  
​
 Go to The White Room Co. and swim amongst Kirsty’s Metaphors, you’re quite likely to find whatever you are looking for.