Eivissa by Mark Davies

“Ok, so for each of the previous ‘Retrospective’ collections there has been a music inspired piece as it has played a massive part in reinvigorating my memories of growing up through to present day. In 2019 I created ‘Mad For It’, a 90’s ‘Brit-pop’ celebration that focused upon the Manchester music scene. A slightly differaent type of music and weather to what you now see here in EIVISSA, but the two pieces are related, to me anyway! Basically, in my late teens I was really into house music, I absolutely loved it. So much so that I wasn’t bothered with the ‘Indie’ scene that most of my mates were. This resulted in me not going to watch the little gig that was ‘OASIS live at Knebworth, that was practically on my bloody doorstep. Damn it!

Typically, I soon started to move towards Indie, Brit-pop and an increasingly heavier taste and I seriously regret not going, I couldn’t even get any shared memories from my mates as they can’t remember anything from it! A side effect that the majority of those who were lucky enough to get over the ‘white isle’ in the hedonistic era of the 1980’s through to early 2000’s. Like I said, I loved and still love the House music from that period, but I never got to go over to Ibiza and ‘large it up’. I’ve never waved a glow stick or got off my nut on mind-blowing drugs. The closest I got was the nightclub in San Jaime – Menorca and waving one of the wooden statues about before getting bollocked and told to leave. Not hardcore but good fun.

As with a good number of my pieces, I like to take on subjects that typically get overlooked in the art sense yet have a massive following. I love creating scenes that put you right back there, that pulls at your heart strings and amplifies all the emotions that you felt at the time.

With EIVISSA I have created a digital still life composition that is much ‘freer’ than the majority of my works, so it truly creates this sense of calm as you either watch the sun go down or come up from the beach. It is a beautiful image, pure tranquillity, with the sun shimmering over a sea that looks like a blanket of diamonds and the stunning Bougainvillea gently framing the vista. If you look closely, you will spot that the sun is actually made from a vinyl LP, whilst graphic equalizer patterns mimic hints of distant hills over the horizon as you look towards the other Balearic Islands.

There is a narrative and another purpose to EIVISSA, it depicts the changes that have happened out there from the early period when the clubs existed but were dotted about amongst little villages and dust tracks. A time when it was all about the music and the experience before the VIP culture took a hold that made everything so much harder and more expensive. Now, sadly it seems to be that the tables are reserved for those with the deepest pockets or biggest following. So, despite this being a positive piece, there is a nod to that. It isn’t something that I will pretend to be incensed by, but I felt it right to acknowledge, more so when the true spirits of Ibiza pass, such as Jose Padilla. ‘Heaven is a place of wonder’.

This sense of shifting sands is reinforced by the objects within the main composition. Dominated by a DJ mixing deck and with cracking objects that surround it, there is this feeling of things being uncovered and recovered that were previously hidden, just like how I hope this piece brings those memories back that were blurred and hazy. It is what ‘Retrospective’ stands and aims for, to look backwards to look forward. Look closely and you’ll spot an object that brings the time of this piece bang up to date rather than it being what many would initially think is set back in past decades. However, once you’ve spotted it, do you see it as current or set in the future when the restrictions are now a thing of the past and with that comes hope that the true spirit of EIVISSA has returned, floated in with the grace of a rainbow unicorn!

I have loved creating this piece, I really have. I hope that it has offered something that many didn’t think existed and that I have done justice to the memories that you lunatics can remember. Look closely at the mixing decks, it is totally transformed with cracking references with the odd one that needs a real clear head to decipher. I love the contrast between the wonderfully calm qualities but the drama and movement of the light trails that not only depict the intensity of the clubs but reinforce the sense that things are coming back to life. At the time of writing, it is Autumn and grey skies, but I hope that I have brought a brighter horizon to you and the time when you’ll be finally back on the sand is getting ever closer. I think we will all drink to that! Just beware of the dangers of Moist, Milky Donuts, Always!

So, it just remains for me to say, ‘av it large! (or standard if the size fits better)”

– Mark Davies