Silver MACKENZIE

Silver Mackenzie’s body of work Pink Space centers around the visualization of internal space scapes. Pinkness is a focus in her work because of its perceived attachment to womanhood and because the colour of the interior of the human body. She has used a variety of traditional media including watercolour washes, pen drawing, oil painting, drypoint print and acrylic ink on fabric.

The first space a human consciousness occupies is the womb, the second space is the individual body and the third space is constructed externally. This series of work aims to depict all three of those spaces together in more and less abstract imagery. The womb is a space shared by every human, she aims not to define womanhood by the womb but rather define personhood by having experienced the womb. She acknowledges that we are all conscious, alive and pink inside.

These works also speak to isolation and the huge divides within humanity. The abstract ‘spaceships’ represent the constructed social and physical spaces in which we live out our lives. The process of quarantining has emphasized how isolating and contained these spaces can be. The unfilled abstract shapes are representative of potential constructs, spaceships still to come into existence.

The experiences of Mackenzie’s childhood largely revolved around escaping or engaging with gender based violence and economic impoverishment. These circumstances create difficulty in developing identity, constructing a livable life and attach a sense of shame to womanhood. With these works she aims to process and subvert those ideas.