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Figure 5: Trinity by Paul Stopforth (Photo Credit: Jay Block).
security prison from 1961 until 1991, practices that use casein (the protein in that can shake up our spirits as well as
where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of the milk) as a binding agent, and Stopforth our eyes.
27 years he was incarcerated. Three often then works with charcoal through The Stopforth exhibition provided
simple stools fashioned by the inmates it. This is one of the techniques the art- the catalyst for the publication of the
in the prison workshop span the com- ist has experimented with over recent first in a new series of studies exam-
position. They seem to float free yet years in pursuit of the “fields of varie- ining the visual arts collections at
remain suspended in each other’s orbit, gated color” described in his artist state- Bridgewater State University. My
like three martyred bodies hanging on ment. His intense engagement with the essay for this catalogue, ‘Bethesda,
adjacent crosses (the shapes of the “T” materiality of paint also bears reference Breakwater, Bridgewater,’ offers a more
and “Y” behind evoking splayed body to chemical and medical uses of the in-depth analysis of Stopforth’s career
parts). Most importantly, the stools con- term “suspended”: the state of a sub- and situates the artworks now in the
vey human companionship even in the stance when its particles are larger than Bridgewater permanent collection in
incarceration of Robben Island, bring- colloidal size and are mixed with but greater art historical context. More
ing together Nelson Mandela, Robert remain undissolved in a fluid medium. importantly, the show precipitated Paul
Mangaliso Sobukwe and Govan Mbeki It is an important reminder that for Stopforth’s generous decision to donate
in a configuration reminiscent of an all of the complex symbolic content, Trinity to the university, complement-
‘amaphakhati,’ a meeting of elders able Stopforth’s practice is forged through ing the works given by Lawrence and
to resolve conflict through consensus deeply considered technical daring. Katherine Doherty. In my opinion,
borne of patient, dignified debate. It is when these two forms of visual this quintet of pieces constitutes an
They become a ‘Trinity,’ a mysterious sophistication are brought together important and profoundly intercon-
union of personhood through relation- that his art succeeds in its “search for nected collection that greatly enriches
ship and community. mystery and beauty.” If we permit a the environment we live and work in
slight etymological slippage borne of
Trinity utilizes an extraordinarily linguistic proximity, a final insight at BSU.
varied, liquid ground behind the black facilitated through pursuing the notion
lettering and stool motifs that stains the of “suspension” in Stopforth’s art is
wooden support but also seems to break the excited, slightly agitated alertness
through the representational elements brought about through the experience
and erupts on the surface towards the of “suspense.” His works can hold us
edges of the composition. This is milk in this indeterminate state of uncertain
paint, a medium Stopforth stumbled expectancy because of their mysteri-
across when staining wooden book- ous yet alluring properties, hovering
cases. Made from milk and lime, and between abstraction and representation.
sold in powder form, it can be clotted They are dense with symbolic allu-
or smooth, opaquely textured or softly sions that offer sudden bursts of insight Jonathan Shirland is Associate Professor in
transparent, depending on the mixing but ultimately remain beyond formal the Department of Art and Art History.
with water. Milk paint is evocative of resolution (in both senses). At the same
a range of traditional African artistic
time, they excite with a luminosity

24 Bridgewater Review