Artist Notes

 

This series of paintings takes inspiration from the language, images and iconography of social media, message threads and newsfeeds. The works are informed by traditions in abstract painting and pop art; combining expressive gestures and emoji-like iconography with references to advertising and communication, that explore the liminal space between crossing virtual and physical environments.  

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The work does not sit neatly between abstraction, figuration or text-based painting, aiming to respond to the multitude of ways we absorb information and communicate in the online world. My use of mark-making and gesture is the index of my being and presence as I navigate cyberscapes and real spaces, evoking a sense of fast-paced scrolling, scribbling, and senselessness. The bright colour palettes are inspired by the hues of Instagram and virtual environments. I choose to work on raw canvas because I like the rawness of the surface, it contrasts the sleek hard glass of screes and brings me closer to the work. On the surface the works appear light and cheerful, like the sleek palette of an Instagram feed, but beneath many of the works is a sense of emptiness reflecting the lonely individual behind the screen.

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Photography: Ian Hobbs, Campbell Henderson and Document Photography