Photos: Jack McNab
Existing somewhere between night and day, absence and presence, Georgia Kewitz’s The Blue Hour explores what it means to be caught in a space of transition. For the Fine Art student, this body of work emerged from what she described as a dreamlike painting process that makes escape, healing, and catharsis possible for her.
Originally from Berlin, Georgia cites fellow German-born artists Hans Bellmer and Agnes Pelton as being highly influential to her work. Their presence can be felt throughout The Blue Hour from its dreamlike imagery and soft colour palette to its surreal, spiritual visual language.
When asked about the process of creating her work, Georgia stated that most of her work wasn’t planned at all, and that while painting, she is in an almost trance-like state.
“The whole project came from the process of being absent in the painting process, when you reach a kind of flow state,” she said.
Much of the exhibition’s cosmic imagery, Georgia explained, “came about from the subconscious,” reflecting what she described as “a pattern of wanting to not be present in the body.” The resulting artworks are some that feel both deeply personal and rooted in healing and catharsis.
The title of Georgia’s exhibition, The Blue Hour, she explained, “is used metaphorically to show the psychological state between absence and presence” that sits at the centre of her work, represented literally as the time between night and day.
“The blue hour is a transitional time, […] not quite night or day,” she added.
Georgia described her experience at DJCAD as overwhelmingly positive, saying that she “loved every moment” of her time there. As she prepares to leave, it feels to her that the degree show marks not just the end of her studies, but the beginning of a much broader artistic practice.
“I wish I could do another year here,” she said. “I feel like I’m just getting started.”
For Georgia, one of the things she will miss most is the ability to work within such a large, social, and well-equipped creative environment. She states that the workshops in DJCAD have allowed her to work on a scale that may be difficult to experience again post-graduation.
Looking ahead, Georgia plans to travel and broaden her horizons and is clear that her work as an artist is far from finished.
“I’m going to keep going forever,” she said.
In this way, Georgia’s experience at DJCAD mirrors the idea behind her work. She is in an in-between period of her life – leaving art school, but still very much developing as an artist.
Georgia’s work is on floor 6 of the Crawford Building.
You can follow Georgia and her work on Instagram @georgiakewitz and her website georgiakewitz.