For some reason I decided it was a good idea to finish off the year with a tromp l'oeil painting.
I had been conducting research into the history of St Paul Street (where the art & design school is located) and found an article about an amateur magician who died aged 29-30 (accounts of his age vary) on St Paul Street in 1925. His death was reported as a 'supposed suicide', which struck me as being a little odd because from other research I did into him (through the wonderful resource paperspast) things seemed to be going pretty well for him, but that's the trouble with relying on newspaper articles for all your information, you just get the public face. Anyway, this man Reg. R. Oakley was the basis for a number of works throughout the 2nd half of the year. This painting shows a mixture of real and tweaked artifacts, the idea being that you can't tell which are genuine and which are invented, blurring the boundaries between reality and illusion, which seemed appropriate as a tribute to this long dead magician.
FUN FACT: The photo in the painting (the one in the album, not the one sticking out the side) is a composite of a photo titled 'Mr. Oakley' which I found on the heritage images site, with the head of my grandfather who also died mysteriously, albeit in 1951.
Installation view of Sleight of Hand, watercolour on paper.
Detail of Sleight of Hand, watercolour on paper.
Work in progress.
Work in progress.
Work in progress.
Work in progress.
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