Up on the roof
Dispatch from Writing with the Seasons - May 2023
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Here's artist Eileen Agar dancing on a roof near Paris in 1937.
A striking image, taken by her husband Joseph Bard, shows her confidence, a sense of liberation. There’s joy and determination here amongst the chimneys and rooftops.
I’m such a fan of Agar’s work. Argentinian-born, London-based, she was one of the few women associated with the Surrealist movement. Her collages include moments and materials from nature. Leaves and pebbles, seashells and feathers. For her paintings, she uses rich colour, patterns, birds in flight. Her photographs capture the mysterious qualities of rock formations. “Nature can produce the most astonishing shapes that you could never dream of,” she said.
The warm weather has lifted my gaze this May. I’ve noticed so many rooftops, roof gardens and balconies in the sky. Whole worlds above my head.
I’ve been working through a scene in my novel, which now takes place on a rooftop. I know rooftops raise the stakes because a fall could be dramatic. They have a wonderful visual, cinematic quality. It’s great location to dance, spy, fight, scream, sob or fall in love. I've used a rooftop to create privacy for my characters to talk and reveal secrets, unseen by others.
Agar has inspired me so much. On a Parisian rooftop, she’s not looking down on life below, god-like. She’s not gazing upwards, distant and detached. Instead, her eyes are to the side. She’s balanced exactly where she is. Her whole self she offers to the camera, defiant and joyful.
Find out more about Eileen Agar here. Writing with the Seasons is brought to you by Write & Shine, a programme of morning writing events and online courses. Spring artwork by Hannah Bonn.