Sunset

Spanning eight metres in width, Andro Wekua's Sunset emanates a jewellike glow that recalls a majestic twilight landscape. Executed in 2008, Sunset is comprised of 170 glazed ceramic panels supported by metal scaffolding. Individually indecipherable, the tile fragments come together to convey a unified scene, reminiscent of how our own memory recalls experiences. The composition, which depicts a central red and black circle representing the sun falling over a darkening ground, evokes a dream-like scene. Andro Wekua's oeuvre of photographs and painted sculptural installations channel fragments of childhood memories into mosaic-like narratives, expressing a space or reality created out of emotions and expression. Of this element of his practice the artist notes, 'inevitably, some biographical elements come into play, but I never intentionally reference Georgia or my experience there. There are some memories that stay vivid, despite the experience itself being long gone. There is always a chance of having invented these memories myself, and never being sure since I can't check' (A. Wekua, quoted in J. Eastman, 'Artists of the 55th Carnegie International: Andro Wekua', July 2008, reproduced at https://blackandwhiteprogram.com/interview/andro-wekua [accessed 4 June 2013]). Indeed with its billowing clouds and abstracted handling of the last rays of sunlight across a glimmering sea, Wekua's Sunset draws parallels with the expressionist landscapes of Edvard Munch. The primary colour palette and the scale of the work with its fired tile composition recalls Soviet-era propaganda murals or the larger-than-life backdrop from a Ballets Russes production.