Inspired by the architecture of industry
I’ve always had a thing for grey concrete architecture, whether old or new, but I’m not sure if it’s the colour or the material itself that interests me.
Brutalist architecture and distopian space-ports
This series is mainly inspired by an interest in worn industrial concrete surfaces, such as factory floors and loading bays, hence the name of the series.
The grey wax hints of scarred, aged, and patched concrete surfaces, while the yellow is a nod to yellow hazard markings that are common in industrial areas. There is even a nod to worn yellow road markings.
Use of wax: encaustics
Unlike some of my previous paintings, these ‘paintings’ are more sculptural in nature. I view them as being somewhere inbetween. It is more about the surface quality of the objects themselves than whether they fit a particular category.
Using encaustic wax as the medium adds this quality. The benefit of wax is it can build heavy and rich textural body, along with a luminosity and sheen quite unlike other materials.
Working with hot wax has its own difficulties as it is often hard to accurately control what it does. Go in too hard and you run the risk of melting the underlying layers, but you need to be thorough enough to fuse the layers together.
Sculpture or painting?
Although painterly in nature I see these as sculptures. The intention is not that they are seen as images but as objects. At the very least, they are expanded paintings.
2017
2017
2017
2017
2017
2017
nigel palmer 