BIOLUMINESCENCE SERIES / Encaustic paintings and monotypes by H.D. Mott
Bioluminescence: the production and emission of light by a living organism. A hybrid word, originating from the Greek “bios” for living, and the Latin “lumen” for light, a perfect description of the work by H.D. Mott.
H.D. Mott’s work is comprised of clusters or groupings of small panels with surfaces of beeswax, encaustic, and oil stick, and builds on her work with this theme over the last two years. Each panel is a world of floating circles and organic shapes in a deeply layered field of illuminated color. The patterns below the surface of the paintings bring to mind fluidity and primal forces in nature. Using luminous greens, oranges, pinks and yellows to create an abstract richness of visual dimension, Mott arranges her panels to express a number of other possibilities simultaneously. Her organic bubble like shapes move within each panel like thoughts percolating in our minds. Standing in front of a cluster of panels creates an arena of radiance suggesting a familiar place we are comfortable in yet never seen before. Within this world inhabited by cell like shapes, is a place where we can dwell in the ambient-lighted space between those forms. Although Mott’s images contain elements shared by the fields of biology and astronomy, her intent is more poetic than scientific, however her interest in the latest research studies in DNA and other fields of science certainly inform her work.
Using her experiences as a practicing art therapist for 10 years, Mott has been exploring the human narrative in her art for a long time. In her RECOLLECTION SERIES, she used family photographs, old letters and books to create art that reflected on the nature of time and aspects of identity connected to family histories. In that series, Mott moved from the personal to the universal human aspects we all share.
In Mott’s BIOLUMINESCENCE SERIES, she delves deeper portraying the intelligence in every cell where our human narratives are created and stored as light and energy. Mott’s visual vocabulary speaks to inward as well as outward realities and becomes the bridge to a realization of our deep interconnectedness with all life.