What are you hiding in there?
oil, oil stick, burlap, tacks, canvas on wood,
2019
Object Meditation curated by Tom Wilmott @ AfterNyne Gallery London
A painting is an object made to be observed, functioning first and foremost in the field of the visual. Engagement demands that the viewer examine it, and its crafted physicality and elevated cultural position dictate that the nature of such an examination be appropriate to its revered status as a work of art. The viewer ought to be ‘present’, not just literally, physically, but in the psychological sense - so that they might take time to perceive and appreciate the painting in the here and now. By its nature abstraction is the most well suited to encourage a “mindful” experience. This is because the abstract has no overt narrative. Its ‘otherness’ and separation from storytelling mean it presents only in the tangible, physical form we perceive. It hovers out of time. In the immediate. In the now that is neither memory nor anticipation - the only moment that actually exists. It brings us into singular presence because if we are to truly engage with it, all we can do is look upon what is before us. Tom Wilmott