"The Savage Garden"
The Portal Gallery Exhibition, October 2009
In this series of paintings Nevay's familiar setting of Eden is changing.
Her children, inhabiting the characters of their animal namesakes, indulge in role play games to explore the many fears and dangers of the adult world. "The Savage Garden" is a playground with a constant threat of menace and of sudden, jarring shifts in power. For Mister Lambe it is only when they all lie down together in the Peaceable Kingdom - the final painting in this series - that you feel a sense of calm. For Madame Lyon, Miss Shepherd, Mistress Woolfe and Mister Lambe an innocent balance has, for the time being, re-emerged.
Her children, inhabiting the characters of their animal namesakes, indulge in role play games to explore the many fears and dangers of the adult world. "The Savage Garden" is a playground with a constant threat of menace and of sudden, jarring shifts in power. For Mister Lambe it is only when they all lie down together in the Peaceable Kingdom - the final painting in this series - that you feel a sense of calm. For Madame Lyon, Miss Shepherd, Mistress Woolfe and Mister Lambe an innocent balance has, for the time being, re-emerged.