Momenti Mori and Other Stories

Some months before the beginning of the 2020-22 pandemic I had completed ‘We All Have a Story’ at Co-Galleries, Berlin. This was an installation and a series of 3D works in which I interpreted my understanding of the political and societal changes taking place at the time; emergent populism and a resurgence of the far-right. As in ‘For it is Written’ (Berlin 2018) this was both a personal catharsis and I had hoped, a call to arms.

In October 2019 whilst working on ‘We All have a Story’ my brother died of cancer and I subsequently entered the period of the pandemic with feelings of bewilderment and loss. In time, my brother’s widow asked if I wanted to have any of his photographs and one of these, which I admired and from which I went on to create a ‘Momento Mori’ series, was catalytic and renewed my engagement with the purpose of figurative work.

As the pandemic died away I began to travel again. It was through figurative work that I now saw the world with curiosity and a greater sense of acceptance of my inability to change anything outside of myself.

Whether abstract or figurative painting, or works in 3D my questions concern the purpose and nature of narrative. The oil paintings in this selection are interpretations of some of the places I visited during that time, melded with expressions of loss, bewilderment and alienation. Perhaps ironically, and sometimes even with humour, some works refer to the work of other artists while all are juxtaposed with figures appearing as if from elsewhere. Something is disturbed. Other things are weird or eerie and as in Hamlet (I:IV) even “the time is out of joint”.

Unlike Hamlet and not being able to ‘set it right’, my artistic objective is to observe those feelings and to invite my audience to join me on a journey into disjointed time.