John Moores 25
This exhibition is being held at the Walker Art Gallery, 20 September 2008 - 9 January 2009
Oil on canvas,
25 x 30 cm, 2008
My work deals with notions of the real and the unreal. I am interested in the idea
of other worlds and places. My paintings are modern landscapes that reference the
history of painting with an underlying fantastical element. A fleeting familiarity can be
found in them, which is soon replaced by an ambiguous questioning.
A lot of my work stems from the voyages of the H.M.S. Challenger, a ship that
explored the oceans in the 19th century. Notions of new and uncharted places
play heavily in my work; how new places and islands are perceived for the first time.
Those feelings of confusion and wonderment are sensations I want to evoke from
the viewer. My influences stem from old films, 19th-century drawings, old masters
and contemporary painters to objects lying around the studio.
'Uncharted (Island II)' evolved from a train ride home from my studio. As I looked out
of the window I could see the hill near where I lived covered in a mist. Only the
top of it, on which stands a giant stone cross, could be seen. This, for me, had that
otherworldly, almost childlike mystery to it.
Damien Flood was born in 1979 in Bray, Co.
Wicklow. He studied at Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design &
Technology Co. Dublin 1999-2003 and the National College of Art
and Design Dublin 2006-08. Group shows include 'Big Store' Temple Bar
Galleries Dublin 2007, 'Iontas Sixteenth National Small Works Art Exhibition'
Sligo Art Gallery (touring) 2005, and two-person shows 'Projector' The
White Room Gallery Galway 2006 and 'Cellscape' County Council Arts
Office Co. Wicklow 2008. Solo shows are 'War on Art' Signal Art Gallery
Bray Co. Wicklow 2004 and 'Libertine' The Crow Gallery Dublin 2006.