My practise has progressed towards looking at some of the many photographs that my Nan has taken of my family and our home life. The domestic interior of my grandparents’ house particularly interested me for its dated decoration and the nostalgia that I felt when looking at the images as they no longer inhabit that house. The interior and décor within the images brought to my attention the way in which Dexter Dalwood has often depicted the domestic interiors of historically significant figures. He often borrows stylistic qualities from other artists, citing from Francis Bacon to Manet. Visually arresting due to the stylistic attributes that he communicates, Dalwood’s paintings also contain a double narrative: subject matter and style. Dalwood often creates some of his paintings from his imagination. In “McCarthy’s List” 2002, oil on canvas he paints the “conservative underbelly of America” (Saatchi Gallery) where the typical middle class suburban interior backdrop of a stone wall and wallpaper are presented. His collage of aspects within the piece (such as the typewriter and globe) pushes this narrative further, a theme within much of his work where he creates “’A portrait of someone without the person there”. In other works such as “The Calm” 2007, it is clear to see a definition between different sections of the collage. I enjoy this interrupted perspective and I am keen on exploring this within my current collage painting rather than blending the different images.
http://www.channel4.com/news/turner-prize-10-dexter-dalwood
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-st-ives/exhibition/dexter-dalwood-and-tate-collection
Amber Turner 