Commentaries on a fractious civilisation
by Hugh Kerr.
“I have always been preoccupied with themes of development, contemporary society, politics and the environment, both professionally, as a citizen and as a consumer of news. My move from the UK to Tasmania 7 years ago coincided this latest period of societal and political upheaval and I, like many others, have developed an unease with many of today’s big societal trends.
These themes have gradually crept into my art work, first as conceptual doodles that fill my sketch books, then as more detailed fine pen drawings and latterly in larger scale oil paintings.
My show Notes of Discord (March 2017) was a first attempt to consolidate the varied issues in this phase of my work and concentrated on the polarisation and angst of western societies in the previous two increasingly noisy, discordant years that saw the arrival of Trump and Brexit.
Since then a new range of works expands this theme as part of Further notes of Discord (May 2018) – looking at issues such as the failure of public policies, global immigration policies, how social media affects public discourse, and the increasing polarisation of politics. What ties these together is that they are all, in my view, part of the weighty knot of societal problems that we have to somehow unpick over the coming decades.
I have been developing my painting with the use of techniques such as layering, glazing and chiaroscuro. The painted works in this series have provided an opportunity for me to experiment with and further develop these techniques.
Much of my preliminary work employs pen drawings. This work has also evolved, in parallel with the painting, into finished pen and ink pieces on textured paper and mixed media works including acrylics and inks applied by brush.”
– Hugh Kerr
EXHIBITION DATES:
Wednesday 9 – Sunday 20 May 2018
OFFICIAL OPENING / CLOSING:
Friday 18 May 2018 @ 6:00pm
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Image Credits:
Hugh Kerr. Constituent Assembly.
Hugh Kerr. The Big Man.
Hugh Kerr. Doctrine.
Hugh Kerr. Ship of Fools.