Jamie Chapman: Rear Window
November 14, 2016 - January 15, 2017
Boardroom and Little Gallery
Peeping has always been one of the guilty pleasures of the viewer; there’s something about having a cheeky perve while those on the other side of the lens are unable to return our gaze. It doesn’t have to be Magic Mike or 50 shades of Dakota Johnson; the real excitement comes with watching a person let down their defences. But is it wrong to spy on others? Probably, but aren’t we all voyeurs when switching on the Tele?
For some, ‘people watching’ is a hobby, while for the many it is a subconscious or unconscious daily activity. In Rear Window, Jamie Chapman explores a darker side to people watching; when curiosity overwhelms and boundaries are crossed. Cinematic structures are exploited to build a sense of anticipation. Frames are harshly cropped to frustrate the viewer and coax them into forming their own narrative as to what takes place just outside of the screen.
Chapman’s paintings play on the uncertainty of the viewers’ role; are they merely a spectator or do they become implicated as the antagonist? Jamie Chapman’s practice examines the painted image: exploring how painting could deal with photographic and filmic structures, constraints and modes of depiction – in broader terms, the contemporary. Negating the brush strokes introduces principles of other image based media and allows a dialogue to come into play with the painted image. The source images are altered: colours and forms mildly modified, cropping made to re-frame compositions, whilst further translations occur through the process of painting.
This practice aims to invert painting; borrowing systems from other media to allow an exploration into how we depict pictures today.