Michael Peck
21 May - 8 June 2008
"The greater crisis of our lives is a spiritual one which affects all aspects of society including economics, technology and morality. The quality of our lives is tainted, and words such as alienation, despair, loneliness, in short, dehumanization, are all relevant and have to be used too often".
H.R.Rookmaaker.
Isolation and displacement are central themes in the paintings I have chosen for this exhibition. Lone figures stand in vacant spaces; withdrawn, abstracted and enervated, each engaged in solitary pursuits. Seeking ways to understand and connect with their surroundings, these characters yearn to belong.
However, in each case there is a sense that their efforts, experiences and sensations are inhibited and somehow dislocated. Far from being pessimistic, these artworks seek to recognise, empathise and share the difficulties and uncertainties which are faced within a constantly changing society. Ironically there is an abstract comfort in recognition of this shared isolation.
The moments in these paintings have their genesis in reinterpretation. Old books, film stills, magazines, newspaper and found photographs are merged, juxtaposed and transformed. This practice allows me to create new contexts and explore possibilities for their inherently meaningful narratives. Although the stories are fabrications and distortions of a common reality, I hope they maintain the concerns of our real world.
Michael Peck 2008.
