An historic collection of cultural artefacts — the common tea towel, the CHUX® wipe,
the shower curtain (Motif #7) — and the paintings, it is said, that inspired them.

Pale Imitation (Unpale)
acrylic on canvas, 110 x 65 cm; metal stairway landing (site specific)

Pale Imitation (Red and Blue Stripes)
acrylic on canvas, 40 x 43 cm; tea towel

Pale Imitation (Grey-Green)
acrylic on canvas, 82 x 71 cm; lace

Pale Imitation (Blue and White Zigzags I)
acrylic on canvas, 33 x 26 cm; Black & Gold Regular Household Wipe

Pale Imitation (Cadmium Red Diagonals)
acrylic on canvas, 90 x 45 cm; plastic mesh

Pale Imitation (Blue and White Zigzags II)
acrylic on canvas, 34 x 27 cm; Chux® Wipe

Pale Imitation (Hot Pink)
acrylic on canvas, 90 x 98 cm; plastic doily

Pale Imitation (Yellow and Blue)
acrylic on canvas, 40 x 43 cm; kerchief

Pale Imitation (Blue and White Zigzags III)
acrylic on canvas, 42 x 26 cm; Ying Feng Cleaning All-Purpose Cleaning Cloth

Pale Imitation (Pink)
acrylic on canvas, 74 x 57 cm; shower curtain

Pale Imitation (White and Blue Zigzags)
acrylic on canvas, 122 x 102 cm; regular household wipes

Pale Imitations continues Ida Lawrence’s interest in fabricating objects, images, and the stories behind them. Through fiction and subversion, she creates alternative histories for, and new interpretations of, the ordinary and everyday. In her recent practice, and while painting the patterned works in this exhibition, she has been thinking about the relationship between imperfection and expression, failure and beauty, what they “look like”, and how they are defined within and by different contexts. In Pale Imitations, Lawrence juxtaposes patterned paintings with similarly patterned mass-produced domestic objects to pose the questions: Which is “original”? And can one really be said to be inferior or superior to the other?

Exhibited at ArticulateUpstairs
22 April – 8 May 2016.

The realisation of this project was made possible thanks to the generous support of the living at home residency/grant “program”, and T.B.&e.K.

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* Fabricated Histories