The artwork of Nerina Lascelles invites viewers to reach beyond wave forms and cloud forms and ranges of mist obscured mountains, beyond rocky summits, precipitous slopes and shadowy ravines, toward depths of field within which a spacious luminescence holds sway.
Lascelles’ development has been informed as much by the formal study of art as it has by culturally focussed field trips abroad – to Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Nepal, Myanmar and Japan. Her journey has followed the relationship between transcendence and art across a range of Eastern philosophical traditions within which visual art and poetry are used as aids to meditation.
The diverse materials that can include metallic leaf, hot stamping foil, acrylic, silkscreen and epoxy resin are layered into her paintings creating a pastiche of the antiquities that inspire. A select few of these treasures include scroll paintings, traditional textiles, byobu (folding screens) and Japanese lacquerware.
Influenced also by the visually arresting Shanshui (mountain/water) painting that originated in 5th century China, the abstracted landscapes featured in Lascelles’ previous bodies of work arose from an idealised impression of the natural world.
The paintings in this exhibition however, reference a number of physical locations along the picturesque Great Ocean Road in Victoria.
While her studio is situated in Melbourne, Lascelles has spent decades developing a deep personal affinity with Lorne and surrounds on countless field trips from her family home at Moggs Creek.
This series of Otway landscapes not only explore the Dadirri (inner, deep listening and quiet, still waiting) experience of connecting with this Gadabanud and Wadawurrung country - whether that be through listening to the crashing waves against the rugged coastline, sitting beside ferny creeks fed by waterfalls or inhaling the wafting eucalyptus mist deep in the forest. The paintings themselves act as sadhanas or objects for mindfulness and meditation.
As the mountains, cliffs and rock formations within these works embody strength, timelessness and certainty, waves, mist and the areas of spacious light lure viewers to mystical beyonds where form ultimately gives way to a nurturing formlessness, and where objects, emotions and thoughts are replaced by a yearning for something essential, for an essence, for a luminous presence at our core.
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
120cm x 120cm
SOLD
Mixed Media and Resin on Birch Board
120cm x 120cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
120cm x 120cm
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 122cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin On Birch
80cm x 150cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 122cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 152cm
available through Qdos
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 122cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media on Canvas,
152cm x 152cm
SOLD
Mixed media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
150cm x 80cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 152cm
SOLD
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
120cm x 120cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
120cm x 120cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
150cm x 120cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin on Birch Board
120cm x 120cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
80cm x 150cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 122cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media and Resin on Birch
120cm x 120cm
SOLD
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
80cm x 150cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 152cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 152cm
Available through Qdos
“The Open Space” describes the formless dimension that precedes all form. It refers to an emptiness or void that contains all possibilities. Physicists estimate that emptiness makes up 80 percent of the universe and that 99.9 percent of the human body is empty space, while in Buddhism emptiness is the ultimate nature of reality. To be empty of independent existence is to ‘open space' inside the Zen circle of enlightenment, an instrumental practice in the creation of Lascelles latest body of work.
These paintings arise from ‘space consciousness', and as such they trace a path from stillness and presence toward the fundamental essence beneath form. Mountain ranges beneath waves and gorges enshrouded in mist suggest the ephemeral passage of objects through cycles creation and decay, while the patterned and textured surfaces echo quantum fields that themselves embody limitless possibilities.
A stream flows
On and on without end - Hakuin 1686 - 1786
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 122cm
SOLD
fade into the distance - Santoka Taneda 1882 - 1940
Mixed media on Canvas
152cm x 152cm
SOLD
Clouds emerge from the mountains
Feelings of enlightenment
and things of the world
are no concern at all - Jokin
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 152cm
White moonlit mountain
Quiet wisdom of the spirit
Empty gaze beyond silence - Han Shan
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 152cm
SOLD
I do not see the white clouds
Absorbed in the sounds of flowing water
I do not hear the flowing water
Mixed Media on Epoxy Resin on Canvas
80cm x 150cm
SOLD
In this nothingness - earth, mountains, rivers revealed
- Saisho c1490
Mixed media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
150cm x 120cm
The cold mountain path
Deep in the clouds,
The old temple bell - Zenrin-kushu I
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 152cm
The cold mountain path
Deep in the clouds,
The old temple bell - Zenrin-kushu II
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 152cm
A fading mountain echo
Void and unreal - Ryokan Taigu
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 122cm
SOLD
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
100 x 100cm
SOLD
I sit down watching the clouds as they begin to rise
Wang Wei 699 - 761
Mixed Media on Canvas
150cm x 90cm
SOLD
The only ones who visit
are the drifting clouds - Han Shan
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
120cm x 120cm
SOLD
One mountain after another
Unveiled - Chiyo-ni 1703~1775
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
80cm x 150cm
In the void
The Meaning - Taisen Deshimaru 1914 - 1982
Mixed media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
150cm x 120cm
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm
SOLD
as I travel this limitless world,
where every step I take is my home ~ Basho
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin on Canvas
100cm x 100cm
SOLD
Clouds peak in the lake
Kobayashi Issa 1763 - 1828
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 122cm
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 152cm 2022
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 122cm, 2021
SOLD
And now the last cloud drains away,
We sit together, the mountain and me,
until only the mountain remains - Li Po 701 - 762
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 152cm
SOLD
I should laugh silently. My soul is serene,
The peach blossom flowers, the morning water,
There is another heaven and earth
beyond the world of men- Li Po 701 - 762
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 152cm
SOLD
Reflect like a Mirror
Respond like an Echo - Chang Tzu
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 152cm, 2022
SOLD
The only ones who visit
are the drifting clouds
- Han Shan,
Cold Foil, Metallic Leaf, Screen Print Acrylic and Epoxy Resin on Birch Board
120cm x 120cm
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 152cm
otherwise how will you ever see the brightness
Ryokan 1758 - 1831
Mixed Media on Canvas
76cm x 152cm
SOLD
The earth with half open eyes
Moves into winter
Dakotsu Lida 1883 - 1962
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 122cm
Available through Qdos Fine Art Lorne
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 152cm 2022
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 122cm, 2021
must long for your old nest
deep in the mountain
- Ryokan Taigu 1758 - 1831
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 122cm, 2022
SOLD
One mountain after another
Unveiled - Chiyo-ni 1703 - 1775
Cold Foil, Metallic Leaf, Screen Print, Acrylic and Epoxy Resin on Board
76cm x 152cm, 2022
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
76cm x 122cm 2021
All visible things become this nothingness
- Shinkichi Takahashi
Cold Foil, Metallic Leaf, Screen Print Acrylic and Epoxy Resin on Birch Board
150cm x 120cm
SOLD
The cold mountain path
Deep in the Clouds, The old temple bell
- Zenrin Kushu
Cold Foil, Metallic Leaf, Screen Print Acrylic and Epoxy Resin on Birch Board
150cm x 120cm
Available through Qdos Fine Art, Lorne
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm, 2021
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
76cm x 152cm
SOLD
And you will find yourself at One
With the mysterious unity of the universe
- Chuang Tzu
Mixed Media on Canvas
Diptych 152cm x 152cm, 2021
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
76cm x 122cm, 2021
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
76cm x 152cm, 2021
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm 2021
SOLD
Be still, and there it is -
in the mountain, n the pine, in yourself.
- Lao Tzu
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 152cm Diptych, 2021
SOLD
‘Resonance’ invites viewers to reach beyond wave forms and cloud forms and ranges of mist obscured mountains, beyond rocky summits, precipitous slopes and shadowy ravines, toward depths of field within which a spacious luminescence holds sway.
One senses however that we are not entering a landscape of this world, for earth, water and vapour appear disembodied somehow, and either becalmed or drifting in a state of suspended motion. All is tranquil and raised to a heightened significance, and this would be the limit of the experience, were it not for the quality of light.
According to a deeply rooted sympathy, we feel more than usually drawn, as though the depth of field so skilfully portrayed in each painted landscape were resonating with landscapes of heightened significance within, from the depths of which light flows forth from the centre of our being.
If that light could speak, it might speak of the marriage of remoteness and intimacy. It might speak of a harmony uniting inner and outer worlds, or it might repeat the poetic observations of enlightened sages:
Only the inner light illuminates eternity
Only that light can guide us back home
Lao Tzu, c. 5th-century BC
So in addition to being artworks of rare and transporting beauty, these paintings can act as sadhanas, or objects for meditation, that invite us to reinhabit the luminous stillness at our core.
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm, 2020
SOLD
is my home - Basho
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm, 2020
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm, 2020
SOLD
Mixed Media and Liquid Chrome on Canvas
101cm x 101cm
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 122cm
SOLD
in the void
the meaning
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 122cm, 2020
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm, 2021
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm, 2021
SOLD
This coolness! Issa 1763~1828
Mixed Media and Liquid Chrome on Canvas
76cm x 152cm, 2020
SOLD
Pillowed high in emerald mist. Li Po 701~762
Mixed Media on Canvas
76cm x 122cm, 2020
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm, 2021
SOLD
a lovely little nameless hill
on a sea of mist
~ Basho
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm, 2021
a fading mountain echo,
void and unreal
- Ryokan Taigu
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm, 2021
SOLD
Transcend by Nerina Lascelles positions viewers before churning seas, forbidding ravines and treacherous slopes. Elemental forces are in flux, and within this unstable environment expeditions into thick and formidably layered interiors can begin.
Inspired by the visually arresting Shanshui painting (Sansuiga in Japanese) that originated in 5th century China – paintings synonymous with mist-covered mountains and rivers fed by waterfalls – Lascelles has enacted an epic cycle of Sisyphean expanses that propel us seamlessly into corresponding landscapes of the mind.
Shanshui painting soon effected a kindred movement in poetry, in which poems were composed to be read with a specific painting in mind, while others were intended to evoke a particular image in the mind’s eye. Echoing this tradition, Lascelles has selected a Zen poem, a haiku or a poem’s title for each painting, so viewers can turn the shards of poetry over in their mind as they explore the alluring typography and the play of light and shade.
While the completion of this cycle has enabled transformations in the artist herself, from discomfort, hardship and loss to beauty, wisdom and clarity, as objects for pure meditation they have a quietning effect on the mind, dissolving notoriously fraught relationships with mundane external affairs, and in so doing opening into a psychologically purer space resembling Heidegger’s translation of the Japanese principle of iki , which he renders as ‘the pure delight of the beckoning stillness’ or as ‘the breath of the stillness of luminous delight’.
So as the many mountainous forms embody strength, timelessness and certainty, the areas of spacious light lure viewers into mystical beyonds, where form ultimately gives way to a nurturing formlessness, and where objects, emotions and thoughts are replaced by a yearning for something essential, for an essence, for a luminous presence at our core.
Like Shanshui painting and poetry, Lascelles invites viewers to embark upon journeys of contemplation encompassing birth, life, death, abundance, loss, and longing, and to pursue their innumerable corresponding journeys into poetry and art.
Until only the mountain remains. Li Po 701 ~ 762
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 152cm, 2019
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 122cm, 2019
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 122cm, 2018
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm, 2019
SOLD
and then forget that you're there - Lao Tzu
Mixed Media on Canvas,
122cm x 152cm, 2019
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 122cm, 2019
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 122cm, 2019
SOLD
The sound of his bell. Meisetsu 1847 ~ 1926
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 122cm, 2019
SOLD
but at the peak we all gaze at the single bright moon. Ikkyu (1394 ~ 1481)
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm, 2019
SOLD
Taneda Santoka 1882 ~ 1940
Mixed Media and Liquid Chrome on Canvas
122cm x 122cm, 2019
SOLD
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 122cm, 2018
To what shall I compare it? It's like an echo resounding through the mountains, and off into the empty sky. Ryokan 1758 - 1831
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm
SOLD
The moon reflects within it; then, even if there are waves, they are bright - Dogen 1200 ~ 1253
Mixed Media on Canvas,
76cm x 152cm, 2019
SOLD
I just let go - giving myself up, to the whim of the wind. Ryokan 1758 ~ 1831
Mixed Media on Canvas
101 x 101cm, 2019
SOLD
Mixed Media and Liquid Chrome on Canvas
84cm x 152cm, 2021
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 152cm
available through Qdos
The earth with half open eyes
Moves into winter”
Dakotsu Lida 1883 - 1962
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 122cm
One mountain after another
Unveiled - Chiyo-ni 1703~1775
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
80cm x 150cm
Mixed media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
150cm x 80cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 152cm, 2021
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 122cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 122cm
Available through Qdos
Clouds emerge from the mountains
Feelings of enlightenment
and things of the world
are no concern at all - Jokin
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 152cm
Mixed Media and Liquid Chrome on Canvas
84cm x 152cm
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
80cm x 150cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media and Resin on Birch Board
120cm x 120cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 122cm
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin On Birch
80cm x 150cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 122cm
Mixed Media on Canvas
76cm x 122cm
Mixed Media and Liquid Chrome on Canvas
101cm x 101cm
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
120cm x 120cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
150cm x 120cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin on Birch Board
120cm x 120cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 122cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
120cm x 120cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 122cm
Available through Qdos
and then forget that you're there” - Lao Tzu
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 152cm
a lovely little nameless hill
on a sea of mist”
~ Basho
Mixed Media on Canvas
101cm x 101cm
Mixed Media and Epoxy Resin on Birch
80cm x 150cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 152cm
Available through Qdos
Mixed Media on Canvas
122cm x 152cm
Available through Qdos
