 |
 |
| Victor Masayesva North Dakota Museum of Art |
|
|
Night and Day, 1993
Tissue, Oil on Silver Print
| In 1993 Masayesva visited the place on the Australian coast where aboriginal people first arrived on land from the sea in their early migrations. A single mangrove tree with branch-like roots is reflected in a shallow pool on the tidal shore anchors the work Night and Day. Above and below the mangrove a deep blue sky flooded with stars evokes a meteor shower of fantastic proportions. As in much of his later work, Masayesva paints and glues simple, found materials onto silver print photographs. The starry sky is actually blue and white stamped paper to which he has added transparent coats of blue paint, yet the effect is magical. The photograph of the mangrove casting a mirror reflection of itself in the water was taken in full sunshine but, combining it with layers of stars and paint, Masayesva evokes aboriginal Dreamtime by bringing together night and day, above and below and a place that is at once real and mythical. The profundity of the piece is softened with subtle humor; for instance, the constellation Pisces with which we are familiar in the northern hemisphere, appears "down under" as a small fish in the sky. |