Behind her eyelids she sees something. […]

Kaye Donachie’s paintings pay tribute to a cast of historical female figures. Modernist performers, futurist actresses and non-conformist poets become protagonists connected by their unconventional beliefs and preferences. The paintings recognize the allure of these individuals and the extent to which they have stimulated Donachie to illuminate their specific histories, posing questions such as what it is to be present, to be active, to have a voice, and to assume ultimately, some measure of control over creative and emotional labour. The narratives within the paintings are given structure by the visceral sensation of light, outline and intensity of surfaces that evoke images surrounding the various subjects of her investigation. In this visual essay Donachie shares recent pictorial research that focuses on the writings of Marguerite Duras. The images do not dwell on Duras narrative but attempt to capture the writer’s strange ability to show how one space and time can dissolve into another through the form of an elliptical poem. Using painted cyanotypes Donachie draws directly on an illuminated source, with Duras novella providing a painterly alchemy for overlaying figural images and condensing time.