Nocturne
2013 Tacit Contemporary Art, Abbotsford Melbourne
These works were born out of a fascination for the dark, and for its eternal mystery. They represent scenes from the subconscious, from dreams or from memory. Many are derived from pictures I have taken or collected over a long period. I perceive them as atmospheric, moody, cinematic. Some time ago I spent several years working as a cinema usher, many hours were spent in the rear of the auditorium, watching images being projected onto a dark surface and I often think perhaps I am reconstructing this here in some way.
These paintings are an attempt to depict not only a physical, tangible, exterior darkness but also a boundless, opaque, interior depth; a meditation about the interiority of experience; about the unseen parts, that which exists only on the inside and is rarely seen. I ask the viewer to assume an instinctive approach to these works, that they allow ourselves to be guided by feelings as much as intellect. In these spaces the natural becomes unnatural or supernatural, senses become heightened and colour more saturated, more intense.
I am interested in the expectancy of the dark, as a metaphor for that which we cannot see. Darkness as a veil that obscures vision and which allows us to imagine what might occur. There is disquiet here, an eeriness, a sense of foreboding. All manner of things could take place under the veil of darkness; things that would never happen in daylight. In this way the dark becomes pregnant with unseen limitless possibilities; it is in this way it activates our most primal fears.
I have been making and exhibiting art since 1995. Over this time I have exhibited in Melbourne, and have been involved in several art related groups and activities. This exhibition marks a return to painting after a break of several years.