Chris Jenkinson
Tickets: Free
Time: 02:00pm
1 April - 30 April
Chris' Personal Statement
Some of my latest works are of children’s toys which have a wonderful shiny plastic feel to them which translates well into paint, I see this being a subject matter I will continue to work with. Also, as with the American photorealists who paint the classic automobiles and caravans they see around them. Influenced by the American photorealist movement I wish to experiment with what relevance this questioning through the meticulous detailing of British objects can have to our culture and its preoccupations with consumerism in the present day. As a part-time graphic designer, in my work as an artist I am intrigued by seeing where the two languages of design and fine art can meet.
The greatest influence on my work over the last two years has been the American photorealists, all of which I find remarkable, but in particular Rod Penner and Ralph Goings. I can identify with many of the characteristics of their work, in particular the meticulous attention to detail and the relationships between the objects in their paintings. These can be tragic, romantic, and kitsch. These relationships are as valuable as those between living subjects, and often in the absence of people can convey far more desolate sentiments which can explore far weightier issues than their literal appearance, such as the obvious existential connotations of a single salt shaker say, to the question of business ethics raised by painting a packet of sugar.
In society as the consumer suffers a constant barrage of images and marketing tools and makes a conscious effort to ignore them to overcome distraction. The disposable image can be seen as a tragic notion depending on whether the viewer values the original purpose of the photograph or not. Everyone’s homes are full of snapshots, holiday snaps, photos of someone else’s wedding, images that mean little to anyone they do not concern. However what sets the photorealists’ images apart is that they have considered the image by the very act of painting it. In my case by taking lowly objects such as cheap childrens' toys and discarded MacDonalds meals and elevating their status through a photorealist treatment.
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