Christopher R. Inwood has created 17 large, traditional oil paintings that draw from the composition and aesthetic of our current homogenised digital culture, in order to provide a vehicle for direct communication with the people of our time. The ‘meme’ has been used as a formula for the composition of the paintings in this show, due to its simple and direct communication, and ease of engagement.
The contemporary oil portraits are constructed using the unique parameters and benefits of the new digital aesthetic, which are combined with text that comments on issues prevalent in our current and future culture. The use of oil painting draws from Inwood’s knowledge of art history and his understanding of the refinement of painting, which enables him to bring the immaterial into the tangible world. The visual intrigue created by the painted memes is supported by didactics that direct the viewer to further digital information regarding each topic.
The didactics display QR codes that link to videos, articles and content that will expand the knowledge of the viewers through the process of autodidactism (self education). This exhibition, Be Public In The Now, aims to directly communicate observations and pressing concepts of our future existence through the use of digital language combined with imagery indicative of our temporality. The extended format of this exhibition aims to further promote the growing importance and value of self-education, as autodidacticism becomes heavily relevant in an age of information and post truth.
For more information please visit the – Artist Website
