EXHIBITIONS

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Kaleidoscopic in its emotional range, Lisa's solo show ‘Heart in a Jar’ was an architectural exploration of the inner and outer self. Each painting examined interior and exterior spaces which are contained and re-contained before bursting open, unleashing an outpour of what might be love or grief, anxiety or pain.

Some celebratory, others more sinister, each canvas constructed and demarcated its very own world. The glass bottles and vases which became a motif running through the collection could well be windows to the soul, or display cases, freezing a more macabre scene in time, suspending it in negative space. It’s this duality which make MacDonald’s work so rich and yet so bittersweet. With every chirruping bird, there’s a ghostly figure seemingly trapped behind the glass which haunts the scene – have they been imprisoned there against their will or does it just feel safer to keep the outside world out?

Begun in 2018, the work felt prescient in an era where lockdowns and shielding have entered our common parlance, but MacDonald’s own experiences of chaos and chronic pain illuminated how these dimensions of control and mayhem have been a reality faced by many long before the pandemic hit.

​

Resonating more keenly and poignantly with the public in light of the covid-19 outbreak, it's fitting that this work was exhibited in 2020 – a year of painful recalibration and change, a year where time has both stood still and rushed forward, which has been observed by all of us, our faces pressed up against the glass, waiting with baited breath.

The artist is exceedingly grateful to ArtHouse Jersey who provided the seed funding and exhibition space to make this show possible.