Corinna MacNeice鈥檚 Women of Mariupol (2022, oil on linen) is part of an exhibition of works created from photographs taken of Ukrainian women in the early days of the Russian siege on Mariupol.
Womenof Mariupol II(above), an ink, charcoal, and gouache on paper work created in 2022 byCorinna MacNeice, is on view in an exhibition of the artist鈥檚 work at Here Gallery.
Women of Mariupol I (above), an聽ink, charcoal, and gouache on paper work created in 2022 byCorinna MacNeice, is on view in an exhibition of the artist鈥檚 work at Here Gallery.
Corinna MacNeice鈥檚 Women of Mariupol (2022, oil on linen) is part of an exhibition of works created from photographs taken of Ukrainian women in the early days of the Russian siege on Mariupol.
Women of Mariupol I (above), an聽ink, charcoal, and gouache on paper work created in 2022 byCorinna MacNeice, is on view in an exhibition of the artist鈥檚 work at Here Gallery.
When Russian troops poured into Ukraine in 2022, continuing the aggression begun eight years earlier when the nation seized strategically located Crimea, 疯客直播 Fe painter Corinna MacNeice鈥檚 reaction was unlike those of most Americans: 鈥淣ot this again.鈥
The horrors of September 11 are the closest most Americans have come to experiencing war and its aftermath. MacNeice grew up in the British capital shortly after the end of World War II and recalls walks with her father, renowned Irish poet Louis MacNeice, and marveling as a little girl at the destruction and cruelty humans are capable of.
鈥淟ondon remained very much a war city, with rubble and destroyed buildings, and it did not recover fast,鈥 she says. 鈥淪o when Russia invaded Ukraine, it was a huge shock, because I never thought that kind of barbaric bombing and rocket throwing would happen again in Europe. It was like being thrown back into the Dark Ages and terrifically upsetting.鈥
MacNeice鈥檚 childhood sensibilities about war are embedded in the DNA of the paintings and mixed-media pieces she created for Women of Mariupol, running for a month at Here Gallery鈥檚 new location on Llano Street. Mariupol, Ukraine鈥檚 10th-largest city with about 420,000 residents, was devastated early in Russia鈥檚 invasion and became a symbol of the catastrophic damage the war would inflict upon Ukrainian infrastructure and daily life.
Womenof Mariupol II(above), an ink, charcoal, and gouache on paper work created in 2022 byCorinna MacNeice, is on view in an exhibition of the artist鈥檚 work at Here Gallery.
MacNeice鈥檚 paintings are created from photographs taken of women in the early days following the siege on Mariupol. She stresses that while the subject matter is heartbreaking, she aims to empathetically showcase the power of the human spirit amid the damage wrought by its worst impulses.
鈥淚t was a terrific shock,鈥 MacNeice says of Russia鈥檚 invasion. 鈥淎nd then, slowly, the images started coming through of people, and it was the women who stood out. They were in their own zone. It was like, I can witness this. I can鈥檛 enter it. I can witness it. At the same time, there was a familiarity of it in a way. So I got this idea as I was seeing the women鈥檚 faces meshed into the surrounding ruination of the buildings.鈥
Women of Mariupol is both mixed-media and multimedia, with ancillary offerings planned every Sunday during its run (Here Gallery normally is open Tuesday through Saturday). A reception with MacNeice is from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, February 2, featuring poetry readings by John Macker and Teatro Paraguas Artistic Director Argos MacCallum, who happens to be MacNeice鈥檚 husband. Following are Joe West, Josh Martin, and Margaret Burke performing Bob Dylan protest and other songs February 9; a poetry reading with Margaret Randall and Larry Goodell on February 16; and a closing reception March 2, all from 2-4 p.m.
Painting might seem an unusual artistic pursuit for the daughter of a venerated poet, but MacNeice long has been more comfortable expressing herself visually.
鈥淚 was born into an intellectual family, and I was not intellectual myself,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t got more and more awkward with words, because I got corrected or contradicted or brushed aside. What draws me to painting is that there are areas one can enter precisely because one cannot describe them in words and is why one does it.鈥
Improbably, MacNeice began painting in sun-splashed southern Europe.
鈥淲e were in Athens; my dad was invited to run the British [embassy] there for a year,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 would sit on top of the buildings there, watching all these Greek ladies hanging out their [laundry]. I was so confident in what I was doing, it never really went away after that.鈥
MacNeice began creating聽the pieces that would end up being part of Women of Mariupol shortly after Russia鈥檚 invasion but didn鈥檛 envision a gallery show.
鈥淥nline a lady told me, 鈥榊ou鈥檝e got to contact Ukrainian magazines and offer them these images,鈥欌 she says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 get very far with that. So when the possibility of showing here [presented itself], I thought, 鈥楾his is great. This is great because they should be seen.鈥欌
MacNeice followed her emotional instincts and moved on to different work as the emotional weight of what would become Women of Mariupol bore down.
鈥淣ow we鈥檙e three years in, and this was just the very, very start,鈥 she says of when she created the pieces. 鈥淚 knew when to stop, because it was getting into me.鈥澛