Review by Mathias Thiel :

A FISTFUL OF ASH

"CAPE PHOENIX – A RESURRECTION STORY" - Solo Show by
Jade Cassidy

Jade Cassidy's works draw inspiration from the national flower of her homeland, South Africa—the King Protea. This pyrophilic plant relies on fire for its regeneration; its seeds are released only through the heat and destruction caused by flames. Unlike most forms of life, it seems that for the King Protea, new life can emerge solely through death. Here, destruction and renewal are inseparable, fused into a singular entity. Similarly, Cassidy's sculptural works merge death and life into a unified state—a condition that remains ambiguous, a moment of indecision. It is as though she is attempting to grasp the transition from death to life, from destruction to renewal, capturing that nonexistent, ephemeral instant.

Her delicate clay sculptures seem to echo the shapes of flower calyxes. The material, hardened by fire, exchanges its once-living, infinite malleability for brittle fragility. The deformed sculptures linger in uncertainty; at times, they resemble human hearts—yet profoundly deformed or destroyed, bound with leather straps, as if straining to prevent them from bursting. These works disturb, exude unease and indifference; one can almost smell and taste the presence of fire and ash in their form. They remain suspended in a state of ambivalence, refusing to be either one thing or the other.

Yet darkness is never hollow. Cassidy’s paintings emerge from the depths of darkness—black canvases that seem to be rendered in soot, unveiling delicate nuances of soft pinks, earthy tones, and vibrant reds, simultaneously evoking memory and anticipation of life. Nothing is relegated to the past, nor is anything anchored in the future. Jade Cassidy inhabits a realm suspended between destruction and renewal, one that resists being fully entered or defined.

Press Text by Isabell Thul

As alluded to in the title of Jade Cassidy’s solo exhibition Cape Phoenix - a resurrection story at Quantum Oddity Gallery, her work centres around the themes of renewal and resilience. The King Protea, the national flower of South Africa, appears in Cassidy’s work as a symbol of death and resurrection, destruction and revival, ruin and prosperity. The King Protea is a woody shrub with large and robust flowers that has adapted to the harsh conditions of its natural environment. Growing in areas prone to devastating wildfires, the King Protea has developed a reproductive system in which the seeds embedded deep within the flowering body are released through the fire that otherwise destroys the plant. Growing from the ashes of what was, new life takes form, grows stronger and blooms again. The King Protea’s life cycle illustrates the connection between catastrophe and hope and is used as a metaphor in Cassidy’s works. Considering the history of her birth country, South Africa, as well as personal histories and more universal life cycles in humanity and nature, Cassidy explores the strength and beauty in resilience. Cassidy’s paintings in oil on canvas depict the King Protea in hues of red and brown as well as black. The reds may be associated with fire and glowing embers, while brown and black seem to suggest charred, burnt and lifeless foliage that eventually turns to ash. Despite the darker and perhaps ominous colour palette there are hints of light in Cassidy’s works. The black paint in her works is not simply an absence of light but provides a surface on which light is reflected, as well as a contrast that allows the red and brown hues to appear brighter. In both a literal and metaphorical sense, darkness always implies light; without light, there is no darkness and vice versa. This sentiment may again be tied to Cassidy’s central theme as well as to the King Protea in that a seemingly hopeless situation, a complete devastation, leads to revival and resurrection. Cassidy’s use of light and dark is inspired by the chiaroscuro technique, particularly as used by Caravaggio, which allows for a dramatic effect evoking strong emotion. As a result, these are not still-life paintings of flower arrangements but dramatic scenes caught in a moment of transformation. The works contain a narrative that is left implicit but may be assumed by the viewer, the characters of which are not in human form, allowing for a more universal interpretation. In Cassidy’s paintings on paper, the flowers exude a humanlike presence, as if imbued with consciousness. Sometimes, the flower droops as though bowing its head; other times, it faces the viewer as though interacting with them. There is movement and rhythm in the broad brushstrokes, rendered in black on white - a shadow theatre comes to mind. Like the paintings, the sculptures displayed in the exhibition are reminiscent of organic forms. The openings fold outward like the petals of a flower. The colour scheme is again dark with bursts of deep red. The glossy glaze reflects the light, allowing the sculptures’ surfaces to glisten as the viewer moves around them. The artist’s hand is evident on the surface of the ceramics as one can see where pieces of clay were added, smoothed out and moulded into shape. Strips of matte black leather are woven or knotted in a macrame technique around the sculptures, some tight, some loose. Though fastened in their leather confines, the ceramic elements of the sculpture appear to outgrow them, breaking loose rather than being restrained. Leather is a material that, in its soft and smooth, skin-like texture, can be quite sensual but may also be associated with more violent forms of intimacy, such as in BDSM practices. Within Cassidy’s sculptures, there is tension; the fragility and potential for destruction due to the nature of the ceramic material is opposed to the durability of the leather and the tightly woven structures or secure fastenings with metal studs. There is an understanding that both realities may be true at once, that something may be both fragile and strong. This concept relates to the resilience of the King Protea in that the plant is both subject to destruction through natural forces and holds within it the power to use these adverse conditions to its advantage. The exhibition Cape Phoenix - a resurrection story contains a message of hope. As viewers, we are challenged to reflect on our own journey of revival, renewal, and resurrection. This may be our personal story or a greater narrative of society or humanity as a whole.