Opposition, Harmony and the Void. Abstract Painting, Jan 2014 Acrylics on canvas, 50cm x 50cm

To put universal conditions down as simply as possible has always interested me. To paint "conditions" felt like a challenge, and I wanted to make a statement that could serve three purposes. Firstly it was to address general conditions of life, existence and everything, to paraphrase Douglas Adams. Secondly it needed to be simple and thirdly it should be "quiet" enough to allow multiple interpretations. This painting relies less on texture, it's one of my more stringently executed works. Hesitation need not apply.
We pursue everything surrounded by the void. We might oppose something, or somebody. We might be involved in struggle. We might chase a goal. We might have a balanced and fruitful relationship with something or someone, and this always exists in relation to the void, whatever the void might mean. The void can equally mean time itself. Both the past and the future can be seen as a void. Life, death, activity, passivity, individuality and community with others is all played out in the present, in the midst of the void. The void itself, like the blank canvas, creates the singularly most important condition for anything. As I have an interest in science, I wanted the painting to be a homage to earthly, non-lyrical considerations, such as the periodic table or perhaps diagrams of molecular compositions as well as all of the above. A little about a lot.