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Mathew Sawyer, Willie Moore, 2007 |
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10. WILLIE MOORE BY RICHARD BURNETT AND LEONARD RUTHERFORD, 1927 REMIX: MATHEW SAWYER, WILLIE MOORE, 2007 Burnett and Rutherford, both from Kentucky, recorded frequently during the 1920s. Burnett remembered in later life learning ‘Willie Moore’ from a printed ballad. Sawyer has depicted the subject of the ballad in his king’s crown, crying and mourning the death of his beloved. One of his tears holds a picture of her with her long dark hair. His tears flow into the stream in which she drowned and a skeleton, wearing a bridal headdress, holds a heart aloft. In the background is an image of her parents, who forbade them to marry, standing at her graveside outside their cabin. Two musicians, perhaps Burnett and Rutherford, sit at the front of the image, playing their banjo and fiddle. London-based Sawyer’s work has been described as melancholy, gentle and unassuming. Recent shows include White Columns, New York, Frieze Art Fair, Basel Art Fair and the Prenelle Gallery, London. He is frontman for the band Ghosts and is currently on a residency in Brazil, creating this image on napkin during his travels. |
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