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I think of Beethoven.

Based in Metung, Jo Sabey is a visual artist whose work is informed by the spirit of home.

Mar 31, 2022


Words: Jo Sabey
Images: Jo Sabey

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I think of Beethoven – Jo Sabey, February 2022.
I think of Beethoven – Jo Sabey, February 2022.

As I observe the encroaching darkness
sounds from an inaudible realm
drift across the lake.

A balance of harmonies
— the first; bass notes reverberating
building in volume and intensity —
a far off beating of drums.

The second; a tremble of melody,
impossibly sweet
— a rift passing through.

The third; haunting, reflective, repetitive.
I hear an oboe, a cello, and a chant.

I think of Beethoven
who from deafness
brought forth sounds sublime
from the deep silence
of the earth turning.

– Jo Sabey, February 2022.

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'I think of Beethoven' is an assemblage of coloured pencil drawing and colour notes with the poem in graphite on arches paper.

Jo is a visual artist based in Metung, East Gippsland. Her work is informed by the spirit of her home.

“When first I came here it was the light that seeped into me – the rising and setting of the sun – influencing my palette with colours that were new to me – liquid, transparent, jewel-like – made more intense when placed alongside colours of the night or the moody blues and greys of storm and tempest. The magnificent canopy of sky reflected in an ever-changing body of water.”

Jo’s practice encompasses an ever-changing range of media from printmaking and large acrylic works on canvas to finely detailed coloured pencil drawings – often accompanied by poems arising as a response to the work in progress.

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