Ropes, strings, cords and ribbons turn up in many pieces by California painter Soey Milk, who uses these objects as symbols for relationships. At times the ropes dangle freely near her figures—friends or casual acquaintances. In other paintings, the ropes and cords bind limbs and hug tightly against nude skin—complicated expressions of love, affection and romance.
Slow Magic, oil and acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48"
In her newest work, Slow Magic, Soey Milk paints her figure holding a knotted length of rope in red, pink and white, while other ropes and ribbons in a variety of colors and materials are neglected. “Ropes are symbols that represent people and lives and relationships. Sometimes they are colorful strands that are other people passing by you. They can also be tied and knotted, which is a convenient way to feel about what other people go through,” she says. “These ropes are not just random. They are special and they matter. This knotted version can represent a significant other. Life is not just a single long rope. It can be tied and twisted up. The rope develops over time. The knots can be beautiful.”
Ho Rang, graphite on paper, 17 x 14"
Soey Milk also says the ropes can create deeply intimate and erotic emotions with shibari, the Japanese practice of rope binding using established forms and knots. “Ropes can be embellishment, but also bondage, because life can be bind you,” she adds. “But the ropes can also be comfort and armor and, since the person being bound is rendered hopeless, the ropes can be trust.”
Connecting these threads is one of the themes of Soey Milk’s newest show, Slow Magic, opening May 26 at EVOKE Contemporary in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Other works in the show include Phantom Skin, showing a nude figure draped in ribbons, and Sonagi Sowing, which has a single orange thread that runs from top to bottom behind the figure, whose flawless skin contrasts with the black leather lingerie made with buckles and steel rings.
Sonagi Sowing, oil on canvas, 40 x 30"
Soey Milk recently relocated the studio she shares with partner Kent Williams from Downtown Los Angeles to Pasadena. They downsized but are thrilled with the space and the shorter commute. Around that time, the couple lost all of their backyard chickens due to coyotes that roam the foothills of Pasadena. “I fell into a deep despair like never before. So by the time I was working on this show, I had a ‘fuck this’ attitude as I was trying to find closure within myself,” she says. “Painting helped a lot. Artists are creating an essence of something. We’re extracting emotion out of our lives and into our work. It’s life and death, sadness and happiness, living and dying. I suddenly wanted to cherish everything, even these mundane moments that people share.”
Phantom Skin, found silk embroidery, polyethylene chips, resin and oil on panel, 48 x 36"
Other key elements of the show are the abstracted backgrounds, which can be splotchy and chaotic, but also more textured and planned. Soey Milk works on the backgrounds in conjunction with the figures. “I don’t want it to look like I peeled a sticker off to reveal the painting,” she says. For the EVOKE show, she will be presenting several works that were painted on and also within resin layers that produce a three-dimensional aspect of the work. “Phantom Skin has half an inch of resin on top of it with embedded kimono embroidery inside it. It’s like looking through glass,” she says. “That’s probably the hardest work I’ve created. I’m happy how it turned out.” —
EVOKE Contemporary 550 S. Guadalupe Street • Santa Fe, NM 87501 • (505) 995-9902 • www.evokecontemporary.com
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