Completed Painting: 'Untitled (From The New School) 15 '

 

'Untitled (From The New School) 15', Mixed Media on Panel, 300 mm x 300 mm x 106 mm, 2021

The work continues, even if progress is a little sporadic and I struggle to stay fully focused on a single body of work for any sustained duration.  If the on-going 'Techno Studies' series represents a bit of a side bar, this latest 'FTNS' painting must represent a side-bar, to a side-bar - I guess.

I'm not sure why I'm so easily distracted these days, but it's not too great a problem, as long as stuff is still getting worked on (and completed).  Strangely, I also seem to find some difficulty in evaluating the quality of the work, but, as long as there's still pleasure in its production - and I feel like I've done the best I can at the time, it's  probably not really worth mithering too deeply over whether it's any good or not.  Ultimately, just doing the work whenever time and energy allow, is all that really matters.  Perhaps assessing its quality will prove a little easier once it's sat around for a while.  

In fact, these 'FTNS' panels are a useful resort at such a time.  Their format, thematic justification, and stolen imagery were all decided long ago.  Conscious repetition is willingly embraced in this case, and the only real conundrum each time is the manner and technicalities of the execution.

Here, the chosen method is largely one of collage.  Aside from the relatively minor painted passages, most of what you see here is composed of various papers found scattered around the classroom during my working day.  It's all relatively straightforward, although there is a deliberate experimental element in the use of raw newspaper.  One can only assume it will darken and yellow further with the passage of time - even as the reported events alluded to slide further into history.  The changing philosophies and purposes intrinsic to education are an abiding theme in this series, and now the passage of time should be reflected in some way, through the actions of UV light and chemical change.