A Drop in the Ocean

Bridge Claire_A drop in the ocean_2016_oil on linen_66x153cm.jpg
 

Claire Bridge
A Drop in the Ocean
2016

oil on linen, 66 x 153 cms

My work seeks to reveal and reflect dimensions of the interconnectedness and interdependence of humanity and our natural world. The title of this work is derived from a line by the mystic Sufi poet Rumi, “You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop”. I explore both a harmony and dissonance in this relationship along with concepts of oneness and wholeness. What is our sense of place if not found in our connection and sense of belonging?

This work is a response to issues of rising oceans, a planet on the brink and the unfathomable beauty and power of our natural world of which we are a part. A part of, rather than apart from. In this case, in painting the landscape, I have chosen to look up with the barest hint of tree tops at the horizon where skies and ocean meet. 

Whilst the palette is intense, the colour is true to the skies I see above my hilltop home at sunset when the last lights roars through stormy skies. I have imagined these skies reflected, as if in an ocean, with all the drama of the fleeting moment. Reflection here also has its metaphor in our relationship with our planet “reflected” in the impacts of climate and environmental change – rising oceans and changing global cloud patterns.