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.

The paintings depict what could be both physical or psychological spaces with themes of struggle, torment and exhaustion. In the painting entitled The Slug in the Tar the figure is depicted in the form of a slug trapped in a field of darkness, restricted and oppressed, whilst in the painting entitled Extraction the colours are squeezed out of the figure, a kind of compression and transmutation of the soul, giving rise to a burst and new forms of colour and light.

The material element of the paint is a key element. The paintings attempt to describe the feeling of density, oppression and torpor through the visceral qualities of the paint. In the painting titled Portal tar has been used at the bottom left to emphasis the weight of the struggle, the figure trying to drag himself out of it. In contrast, the passage in the upper right is rendered in translucent light through the use of spray paint. This contrast of density is important, accentuating the threshold state, moving from a slow and dense material matter towards a transcendent and high frequency light.

One could consider 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, 2026