II Nick ASBHY | Intimacy Artist Statement
from Behind the Art Hosted by Rockhampton Museum of Art
Over the years different subjects have been the focus of myattention. Cars, roadside signs, motorbikes and their riders in Indonesia, ‘Big Things’, shoes abandoned in the streets, discarded chairs and bollards to name a few. Reflecting on this growing list of subject matter I can see patterns in the choices I have made but perhaps they are not always obvious to others. While the central motif in these paintings form a significant element of the meaning of the work, where it is located and how it is framed is of equal importance. And even when in some cases the background becomes more interesting to me, without its counterpart in the foreground the painting is not complete. In terms of my subject choice, humour and pathos have played a strong role but that is not the whole story. In the moment of observing a scene I may be drawn to the way the sun falls on something, or a reflection in a window of the landscape beyond. The more ephemeral aspects of what is seen are just as important to me in choosing something to concentrate on. Photography captures these moments with ease but painting produces other connections over a longer period. I hope that by painting these things I can capture something of those moments.
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