In Celebration of the Dead

Skull - acrylic - 21cm x 15cm

I’ve seen it happen many times. First, the image of Henry Fraser’s painting; it appears a little naïve, but also charming. It is also dark and loose, with a mystery held back. Why do I like it, you say. Do I like it, you wonder, but you do. And then you see the painting and another spell is cast.

Some things in life we can’t control. The inevitable turns up – struggles, love, stories of hardship and eventually death. The Buddhists call it the first Noble Truth, that life is suffering, and it won’t get better until you accept this. Fraser’s work confronts this dukkha head-on and makes us smile and accept our tribulations, and never more so than in this latest untitled body of work. You will spot a death theme. There are over twenty skulls in around thirty paintings; one of them has the words ‘encore I want more’ scratched across it. It sounds extremely morbid, but the amazing thing is the opposite happens. There are no traces of hammer house of horror or gothic camp. Instead we feel good. How does Fraser manage this?

I think it was a confluence of events. Just before starting this body of work Fraser had a troop of Mexicans living with his family and they took the Dia de Muertos, the Day of the Dead, seriously. In Mexico it is a time to celebrate those who have died. The dead are welcomed in. There is colour and laughter. The Mexican God of death La Catrina is applauded as a great leveller. In the end we are all equal, even well-dressed and glamorous ex-ladies like Catrina.

Catrina - acrylic - 61cm x 41cm

Henry Fraser is well-steeped in Catholicism and the incredible images of Italian catacombs, when bodies of long dead monks are dressed in gowns, or bejewelled, or their skulls are built into walls. Like the Day of the Dead and Buddhist dukkha, these are not meant only to be morbid, but are there to be a silent reminder of our swift passage of life on earth and our own mortality. 

Capuchin Monk ossuary

Fraser takes this long tradition of memento mori and makes it his own using an increasing freedom in his brushwork. He uses paint in the way a spiritualist uses a Ouija-board, delving in with faith and bringing back treasures.  One of the loosest paintings, Skeleton, is no more than a few well-controlled brush marks and yet it is one of the strongest in the exhibition. It shows how less can be more and how far one strong mark can go.

Skeleton - acrylic 61cm x 45cm

There are more complex images too. I sometimes think of Fraser’s work as ecstatic visions. I love the little painting Pilgrims. Here four Capuchin Monks stare out like guardians of an ancient truth. Again, it could be a morose image, but it is not. Why do I like it, I say. Do I like it, and I do. The spell is cast.

Pilgrims - acrylic - 45cm x 61cm

Tony Davidson

Gallery Director.

Henry Fraser’s work can be seen at www.kilmorackgallery.co.uk/artists/57-henry-fraser/overview/. This exhibition runs from the 22^nd March – 3^rd May.