ADAM NORTON

In the works in this exhibition, the starting point is often a dog-eared postcard or perhaps a cheaply printed brochure, from the time of low grade mass produced dot matrix colour printing. They have been scanned with all their flaws intact, the scratches, printing faults, creases and stains they picked up during the few decades of their existence. These are fully revealed in the massive enlargement of scale as they are converted to large unique canvas prints, and stretched onto frames. I have then painted into them new elements that have altered their old meaning. This has taken the form of new objects painted over the top of the old or by altering the background of the original image in some way. These new sections have been painted in with slick, rich vinyl pigments and juicy pop colours. 

Viewed up close this has created a slight visual fracture between the different methods of production and the different elements of the work. This border along the line of connection between the two parts of the image is an area of importance when creating the works and the key to creating them. If the works are viewed from a greater distance, both the old and new parts optically combine to reveal their alternative esoteric meaning alluded to by their titles. These hint at a contemporary science fictional meaning different from the original generic postcard.These works are an attempt to fix in time that moment, or ‘snap’, of comprehension when the brain begins to see the new meaning of a previously recognised image. They are the visual equivalent of the science fiction term ‘cognitive dissonance’, or ‘slipstream’ in the parlance of Cyberpunk movement.

Adam Norton