Kat Lyons
Lamentation of the Sky, 2023
Oil on canvas
203.2 x 152.4 cm
80 x 60 in
80 x 60 in
Copyright The Artist
Further images
Lamentation of the Sky centres on the death of a fish in a riverbed. While the fish may appear recognisable in terms of species - perhaps it is a variation...
Lamentation of the Sky centres on the death of a fish in a riverbed. While the fish may appear recognisable in terms of species - perhaps it is a variation of cod or trout - Lyons deliberately eschews any reference to human categorisation. The water has seemingly evaporated, leaving the fish gasping for oxygen - its gills are pronounced and collapsing from the aridity. The melancholic sky is reflected in the body of the fish, giving the illusion that it is becoming a heavenly being, a life significant enough to be lamented. At the same time, the fins appear as a topographic illusion, emerging like a mountain range - the micro death of the fish becomes reflexive to the macro annihilation of our ecological environment - and the lamentation is suddenly no longer hyperbolic.