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| 'Vestige 8', Acrylics, Paper Collage, Ink, Spray Enamel, French Polish, Misc. Solvents & Decorator's Caulk on Panel, 60 cm X 60 cm, 2016 |
Here is ‘Vestige 8’. As mentioned in my previous post, there has
been time amidst the preparations for the rapidly approaching ‘A Minor Place’, exhibition, for a
couple more of these ‘Vestige’
paintings, which means there are eight from which to select for the final
hang. I suspect this will be the last of
these, (certainly for the foreseeable future), and it does feel like there’s a
danger I could start to repeat myself just a little too comfortably with them
now. If there were to be any more in the
future, it would be necessary to find new ways of mixing things up a bit within
the same basic format, I suspect.
Anyway, as also
mentioned, I wanted to ensure there were at least a couple of the current set
which dealt with the idea of those vestigial serpents of mastic adhesive which
so often testify to the loss or removal of an item of signage of some kind, when
encountered on urban walls. One of my
main themes of late has been that idea that something was once said, meant, or
performed within a certain environment - without any specification of what
exactly. The ‘Vestige’ pieces are one of the more abstract expressions of that.
Much is made of
the significance of meta-data, these days – information about information, in
essence. This series is perhaps an
attempt to provide the most tenuous clues merely to the fact that information
was given at all - rather than to the content itself. Not only is the meaning lost in these ‘Vestiges’, but the carrier reduced to a
mere residual ghost too. I’ve bandied
the term ‘Lost Voices’ around a fair
bit this year. In fact, that may be ultimately
the most apposite banner under which to group all of my output from late 2015
to the present.
The technically
minded will spot that I’ve already refined my mastic-application skills, even
since ‘Vestige 7’. I used the same basic technique of pressing Decorator’s
Caulk - having applied it from a mastic gun (as intended by the
manufacturer). This time though, I applied
it onto a still-tacky coat of PVA, and pressed it beneath a board coated with
plastic parcel tape. This provided
sufficient grab/release (on the right surfaces), for the entire squiggle to
remain in place once the caulk had set and the board was removed.
The other rather
obvious point worth highlighting is that ‘8’
is (predominantly) orange. One of
the features of last year’s ‘Map’ paintings
was their generally heightened colour.
As my post ‘Mental Mapping’ work started to coalesce around the turn of
the year - it became obvious that a monochrome, or very limited palette was
going to predominate instead. That has
continued to be the case. However, it
also became true that, when I tried to visualise how this body of work might
look in an exhibition context - what my mind’s eye actually saw was a largely
monochrome collection of pieces, punctuated by occasional moments of almost
arbitrary, heightened colour.
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| 'Extracted Fragment 4', Acrylics, Paper Collage, Ink, Spray Enamel, French Polish, Misc. Solvents & Screen-Print on Panel, 30 cm X 30 cm, 2016 |
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| 'Extracted Fragment 8', Acrylics, Paper Collage, Ink, Spray Enamel, French Polish, Misc. Solvents, Pencil, Coloured Pencil, Ballpoint Pen & Screen-Print on Panel, 30 cm X 30 cm, 2016 |
Thus, key
components of the (also eight-part) ‘Extracted Fragments’ series of mini panels, and certain pieces in my print-orientated
‘Change Of Use’ series too, are
distinguished by instances of heightened orange or Cerulean Blue. My original intention was that ‘Vestige 8’ would be an altogether more
garish, synthetic affair, but ultimately, my heavily-modulated, layered
approach to its production, means it’s rather more subdued (or just grimy),
than envisaged. For all that, I’m by no
means displeased with it, and already relish its status as the wild card within
the pack. It is, I hope, just impudent
enough to stand distinct from its peers, whilst still belonging within the
overall series. (Any amateur
psychologists can get to work now…)
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| Design: Chris Cowdrill |
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