I am preoccupied very much at the moment by the task of preparing for my forthcoming exhibition at the Apothecary Gallery, in Thornton. I do want to get this right, because it will be the first occasion on which I have been offered a solo exhibition at a proper commercial gallery. It is not enough to identify the space available, and select enough pictures to fill that area. The task of publicity seems to me to involve the presentation to the public of a coherent idea …. a sense of identity. Consequently, it is not a matter of just going through my log-book and picking out what I think might be my best pictures. I need to offer two perspective viewers a sense of my identity as a painter. I can’t just invite them to come and see a load of stuff.
What I have fastened onto is the title Observations. I hope that this will convey a sense that what I have to offer is an eye which sees the world in a specific way. There is an implied claim that I see the world with a certain clarity.
I don’t know what this will do for potential visitors to the exhibition, but the interesting thing is that it compels me to look at my own work in a new and critical light. It’s an interesting experience.