Ash and Pomegranate, 2015, 98 x98 cm (overall 110 x 110 cm). Gesso with ash from Paphos and pomegranate dye on Arches 300 gm paper.

in August 2014 I was working on an excavation in Paphos as Artist-in-Residence. One of the trench supervisors, Helen Nicholson had reached a level which was a pure ash, where buildings had been intensively burnt in the late 4^th century, possibly after an earthquake. Seeing me watching the diggers, she spontaneously filled a finds bag with the soft grey material and gave it to me “for your work”. I mixed it with a pot of gesso so that I could carry it back to Australia. I have used it like an earth pigment.

The pomegranate stands for regeneration and fertility with its compartments full of jewel like fleshy seeds. The pomegranates in my garden supplied the skins to makes a dye from gold to pink, used widely in Europe and India.

Diana Wood Conroy

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