Safe as Houses by Catherine Kelly
My current work evolved from using a pack of cards as a metaphor to explore the randomness of life and the luck of the draw.
About Catherine Kelly
Teresa (1997). Catherine Kelly. Acrylic Screenprint on Canvas. 6 feet x 4 feet.
“My current work evolved from using a pack of cards as a metaphor to explore the randomness of life and the luck of the draw. The luck of the draw and its unfairness is a familiar aspect of everyday life.”
“Luck or randomness plays a key role. You can get a good hand playing cards or in life. How you play the game can involve personal skill and it can be difficult to assess whether the winners or losers at cards or life are due to luck or skill or both.”
“In any game of cards, as in the game of life, the needs of the individual and those of the group are often incompatible and therefore the metaphor of such a game provided and continues to provide me with a suitable vehicle to explore the struggle of human existence.”
Above: “I was concerned with how cards are played, and how the images on the cards themselves reflected aspects of daily life that are often accepted without question. Set against a neutral background each photograph mimics the careful construct of the ordinary playing card. Their uneasy familiarity highlights the fact that we seldom confront what is considered to be the norm.”
“The models chose their own contemporary outfits. The interesting differences that emerged were in themselves a commentary on contemporary perspectives and the new representations we continue to construct. The props and accessories for the photo shoot are as disparate as props produced on a computer and a golden plastic joke shop crown. They reflect the abstracted shapes of the hand held symbols of office; their artificiality is exaggerated without making them any the less convincing.”
Below: “Safe as Houses is a freestanding construction of printed gessoed MDF fashioned to resemble a house of playing cards. The hierarchical nature of the imagery on the cards is minimised in this instance, as each card is equally important if the structure is to stand.”
"The physicality of this playful construction and its placement in an art gallery separates it from the notion of a child's game and invites the viewer to question the existence of such a metaphor. I wanted to create some visual device that would be readily accessible and would communicate elements of experience that are common to all.”
Limited Edition of 230 packs, 52 cards + 2 Jokers, Bridge quality, silver edges. Available directly from C. Kelly.
About Catherine Kelly
By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
Founder and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.
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