The Shadow and the Colour Series

This series of paintings explores the darker aspects of the human psyche, internal and external pressures imposed upon the individual, threshold states and points of transformation. In a world in upheaval where social structures and belief systems are being challenged or are collapsing, and where conflict and instability abounds, it is difficult for the individual to remain unaffected.

For this work I needed to return to the use of the paint brush and the materiality of paint. The writhing and confined figures are depicted with dark and light forms colliding in the compositions. The paint is visceral to express the contorted bodies and the depths of the shadows, which contrast with more ethereal effects of light. Within the density of the darkness these fragments of light offer hope and renewal.

The second part of the series titled The Colour Series in contrast is an exuberant outburst of colour. The paint and forms are fluid and flowing, like gusts of wind, an exhalation, or the flight of the bird. The paintings were painted in an intuitive and playful manner with no preconceived outcome, just the sensation of the colour itself. The theme from the darker works is nevertheless still present where there is a kind of collision and struggle between the forms, but overall there is the sense of an unravelling and liberation.

I think of the analogy of the individual pressed into a state of transformation, like a rock under immense pressure and heat being transformed into a precious stone. Through the confrontation of the shadow, a new understanding of the depth of colour and light becomes possible. 

Jimmy C. 2025