2020-2022 rust / blemish / flesh / rot
Light is absorbed by objects (skin). Light is reflected off objects (steel). Light is scattered, broken, uneven, imperfect, it is interpreted by us into forms that are recognizable and familiar. Light reveals. Scale conceals. This same light reflects off the surface of a painting. Light is absorbed by the painting. Light is reflected off the painting. Our memory is that of the depiction of light. These paintings depict a memory from childhood in which I attempted to squeeze (flesh) in between a car (steel) and a work bench (steel). I remember being pinched as I attempted to press my body through the small opening … ultimately unsuccessfully. I started to paint steel and it slowly turned to rust which eventually transitioned to flesh. In the end all I was left with was paint.
derek liddington, 2020