The exhibition, comprising of 5 egg tempera paintings on gesso board by Stephen Polatch & Jessie Whitely, sits in the window of K.Halstead, awaiting the viewers gaze. The title 'PEEPERS' hints at an underlying conflict within the paintings, unwanted staring, voyeristic spying, facing both interior and exterior; as we look at the paintings, we too are being watched.
Both of the artists share a small range of earth pigments and similar source material. In Jessie Whitely's 'The Outlaw' we see a cowboy hiding, in the shelter of a flower, from a character seen in the silhouette on horseback in the distance. Whiteley's distortion of perspective and scale is reminiscent of the dreamlike nature of fairytales, a thread that is shared in both artists practices as they build up narratives within their paintings.
In Stephen Polatch's 'Autumn Spirit', the viewer's hand is depicted, holding a sycamore leaf that gazes back at them. Polatch's anthropomorphic flora & fauna and enigmatic figures encountering animals, suggest narratives within the paintings which point to the whimsy of folklore and fables as well as their darker aspects.
Polatch and Whitely have also produced a limited edition print for K.Halstead which can be viewed inside the shop.
PEEPERS is on at K.Halstead until the 16th July