24 - Sophia Khan
The Art
“Unadorned Intimacy”, by Sophia Khan
Watercolor on Arches paper
Ferrandina, Italy,
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Sophia Khan says…
I painted this in Ferrandina, Italy. Italy is more than its monuments. More than its museums, churches, piazzas, and ruins. There is a beauty to Italy that is sometimes just around the corner from its more obvious charms. One that is found in weathered cobblestones, peeling paint, spalling stones. One that is seen where laundry hangs to dry in the sunlight outside a window. One that is heard when two women exchange pleasantries and laughs with each other, through the upper floor windows of their opposite homes. One that is observed in the dedicated hands of the barista, the violin maker, the jeweler, the farmer, each leading their simple and contented lives in the backdrop of immense beauty and history.
In celebration of all this, is an unadorned view of House No. 50 in Ferrandina, in the south of Italy. A place like so many others in Italy where the boundaries between public and private are blurred, where outside and inside coalesce. Where meaning lies not in knowing the history of the site, the architect, the street name, or where it lies on a map, but how it moves us. How it reminds us to see beauty in the unadorned, simple and intimate world that so often mirrors our own.
The Music
I wondered of this painting, who might live there? A large family? Through the open doorway, I imagined families and neighbourhood friends gathering, exchanging and experiencing daily life and rites of passage together.
Due to the subtle pastels and sense of tenderness in this beautiful watercolour, I opted for a slow, gentle 3-feel to convey a folk song, using an Italian folk music palette.
For my lyric, I took the river as a metaphor for moving forward in our respective lives. Moving with it or against the currents, I wanted to allude to the choices we face amid juxtapositions, yet ultimately, life will carry us and all will be well.
With warmest thanks to Silvia Callegari and Fiona McCarthy for some extremely short notice coaching re the Italian language. Any mistakes are all mine!
Buon giorno! Wherever you are.
Helen
Project 52.
The Artists
1 - Kathryn Portelli
2 - Helen Hiebert
3 - Petrus Spronk
4 - Ann Lewis
6 - Cornelius Cardew
7 - Bronle Crosby
10 - Casey Klahn
11 - Maggie Ruley
12 - Jim Carpenter
13 - Gerda Tobler
14 - Pete Goodlet
15 - Kathleen O’Brien
16 - Cynthia Morris
17 - Mark Payne
18 - Juli Cady Ryan
19 - Shakespeare
20 - Jack Fisher
21 -Nanci Hersh
22 - Padraig McCaul
23 - Laurie LeBreton
24 - Sophia Khan
25 - Linnet Hunter
26 - Lisa Call
27 - Brenda York
28 - Holly Wilson
29 - Dariusz Klimczak
30 - India Flint
31 - Chris Maynard
32 - Mauricio Paz Viola
33 -
35 - Patty Sgrecci
Ferrandina
La Fiume corre sempre
Ci chiediamo
Ci aggiriamo
Qualora, sarà il fiume portarmi?
Dee-na Deena Dee-naé Day
Dee-na Deena Dee-na Dee.na Day
Dee-na Deena Dee-naé Day
Dee-na du Dee-na du Day
La Fiume corre sempre
Ci chiediamo
Ci aggiriamo
il fiume mi porterà
The River runs always
We wonder
We wander
Where will the river take me?
The river is still flowing
We wonder
We wander
Let the river carry me
Thank you Helen for this so very beautiful sound painting. I especially love the expression of ‘private’ and ‘public’ sounds, so very poetically layered one after the other, as the painting alludes to. The vocals are dreamlike, soothing, and simply delightful and the music, with nostalgic undertones, takes me back….. A true joy to be part of this project!
Sophie Khan