Kulturgeist

Some images of the first stages of construction of my battle jacket. The patches are all custom designed and woven. Some feature images based on some of my previous artworks, and others are new designs. 

Through the process of making my own battle jacket I am re-connecting in a new way with physical materials and realising the importance of this to me as an artist. In a sense this involves working backwards from the painting – taking the object out of the painting by actually making it.

By removing (through actually making) the object, perhaps this releases the painting process from the function of description and allows it to do other things (e.g. symbolise more directly, communicate through materials and construction, play with abstract form etc.)….

Faith Once More

 Some installation photos from my current exhibition Faith Once More at the Herbert Read Gallery in Canterbury. The show runs until 1st March and features interventions from James Hopkins and UCA students.

Amsterdam Insignia

Memento Mori above an arch in Amsterdam City Centre

Arms of the City

Stern Carving from the C17th English Warship Royal Charles captured by the Dutch at Chatham

Devotional painting from the Rijksmuseum

Upcoming Exhibition

Decorated Armour

Most of these images are of Italianate parade armour from the Wallace Collection. The penultimate image is from a poster advertising the area round Hastings - I assume the picture is of a piece of public sculpture - it seems to feature a decorated metal tunic with images of the area etc.
The last image is from the Museum of African Art in Washington DC - it's a soldier's tunic from the Boer War which the soldier decorated themselves with scenes (presumably from observation).

I've been collecting these in preparation for some new armour paintings.

Book/Learn/In

Williamsburg Murals

There's plenty of painting on public display in Brooklyn - ranging from hasty tags and stenciled pieces of street art to laboriously rendered commercial advertisements, many of which give photorealist studio painters a run for their money. The ongoing evolution and re-energising of the age-old practice of painting on walls is fascinating, and it's good to see such skillfully executed work. It is interesting that even the commercial pieces are respected by other artists - I didn't see any that were painted over. The hand-made nature of the works seems to confer a value that is lacking from the printed billboard, and perhaps a longevity too. The advertiser who is paying for a hand-painted mural has to think more carefully about what to put up, as it can't be changed in a few weeks time.