Home VHS: Alva Richards (Ashling Dwyer)

The Age of Spiffo had begun.

PAWS: The Movie. Rated G.

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Welcome back. With me now is Ashling Dwyer...

...modern artist and winner of the 1992 Siu-Chong Prize.

Great to meet you, Alva.

Now, you started off with abstract paintings...

Yes. After my training, I turned towards simple and truly abstract shapes...

Chromatic Accident is a personal favorite.

Thank you. But I found when something was so open to interpretation...

...it can nullify the intended effect, instead of amplifying it.

And you turned to more political themes...

Yes. Perhaps too political early on. You want to rise above party politics.

My favorite from that period is 48 Saucepans Falling Down the Stairs.

My mother had just had a bad fall in the kitchen...

...and it was inspired by a nightmare I had soon after.

Interesting. The mother figure, I think, plays a large role in your work...

It's hard to talk about the themes of your own work.

It's like thinking about your fingers as you play the piano...

...you can actually forget how to do it.

But my own mother has a large part in my life and work.

My ultimate goal is to do a simple, realist painting of my mother's face.

That's very sweet, actually.

Yes, but it's true. That's something I feel I need great bravery to do.

All art is a reduction, in a way, and it can feel... wrong...

...to do that to someone you love.

That's very interesting.