Richard Whincop
Shaking hands with the past
I have always been fascinated by the relationship between ancient and modern, and my figurative work began in earnest with a series of paintings which juxtaposed traditional artworks and contemporary human figures in the context of art museums. I found that these paintings or sculptures from the past seemed to suggest the thoughts, feelings or memories of the museum visitors, as though giving form to their daydreams. So I began to use these apparently external representations to suggest in a symbolic way the imaginative life of the individuals who behold them.
Feeling the need to go deeper into this inner, imaginative world, I began to set artworks from the past in less familiar contexts such as seas, landscapes or outer space, where they seemed to become like elements in some greater dream. And gradually animals and man-made objects found their way in, creating beguiling, humorous or ironic contrasts. These more complex, symbolic narratives began to be less personal, and to reflect the broader themes of the contemporary imagination- as though today’s culture were dreaming of its own past, its proudly scientific modernity grappling with an ancient legacy of war, religious faith, and blind instinct- and the modern eye with its artistic heritage.
These works have often included a painted frame- and sometimes extra real frames- within the picture itself. Traditionally a picture frame marks a symbolic boundary that separates the realms of art and everyday reality; yet within a painting it can become a gateway that allows the imagination to move freely between different worlds, creating connections between individuals and cultures separate in time and space, and allowing old and new world views to cross swords.
The experience of being an artist is like a journey: each work gives rise to ideas about where to go next; but it is not like progressing in a straight line, with a clear end in sight. I move forwards without ever being able to see more than one step ahead, sometimes sidestepping off on a detour, at others retracing my steps, getting to know old ground more surely and intimately by going over it once more. But from time to time I advance with leaps and bounds into different creative territory; I take a new, unexplored pathway which marks a major departure, and takes me out of my comfort zone. This combination of risk-taking and diligence allows me to develop creatively while also exploring things in depth. The result is a body of work which comprises clear “families” of works, creative variations on specific themes- and yet which are still all recognisably related.
