Crying with Cathy..

The work of artist Cathy Wilkes always tends to makes me cry.

Often in the oddest way.

You can be looking at her work and suddenly you feel a tugging on your heart strings. Which leads at once to a distant childhood memory which causes a tear to roll down your cheek. Surprised by the tear, you suck in a quick breath which suddenly leads to quiet weeping. The strangest thing of all, is its not always sad crying but mostly it’s sad.

I don’t imagine for a minute, that is always her intention but I find her work so sweet, tender and melancholic. It so accurately captures little fleeting movements that can reflect a whole lifetime of caring and love.

She creates sculptural installations made of found ‘treasures’, household objects and strange figures to create unexplained little worlds that are frozen in a moment in time, that you get to look in on.

She is currently representing Britain at the Venice Biennale. With up to 500,000 international visitors each year, the Venice Biennale is one of the longest-running cultural festivals in the world.
Cathy has shown in Venice before, participating in the group show Selective Memory held at the Scotland+Venice pavilion in 2005. Her work Untitled (2013) was also seen in The Encyclopaedic Palace presentation in the Arsenale at the 2013 Venice Biennale. She was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2008.

Queen Marie