Dermot Punnett - Statement

'Heaven and Earth are ruthless, and treat the myriad creatures as straw dogs'. - Lao Tzu.

Matter and form are often perceived as static, inert or concrete. However the material world exists in a state of transformation and perpetual flux. Forms can be seen as transistional, constanly arising and subsiding, always being renewed in the constellation of their parts. These paintings question the boundaries which define form through a process of dislocation and suspension. Objects are pulled apart and suspended in space, ridding form of its sense of containment, separateness and isolation.

The content of these paintings are the interaction of man - made forms; i.e structures built within the landscape, and the primordial, elemental natural environment. These dislocated man - made structures are informed by images of buildings and homes devasted by natural catastrophes. Destroyed habitats embody a tragic sense of vulnerabiilty and demise, and yet also paradoxically convey an organic vitality and sense of animation and life. They represent the transience of man - made forms and are an example of man's fragile relationship to nature.

Ideas of the sublime are also prevalent in the work; the vastness and immensity of nature, its indifference to man, and the paradox of its creative and destructive power. The image 'rupture' shows a fragile, wooden pyramid structure being overwhelmed by an internal lava eruption. The pyramid as a symbol resonates ideas of hierarchy, process, permanence and the transcending of nature. It stands for the ideals aspired to and upheld by civilisations, which become insubstantial and irrelevant in the wake of natures elemental power.

Another core concern within the work is the exploration of paint as both a physical, material process, and as the creation of a fictional space for the imagination to occupy. A sense of realism through colour, light or texture, is given to the viewer as a foothold in the painting, some tangible relationship or feeling of atmosphere with which they can identify. This is juxtaposed with the material nature of the paint, illustrating painting as both a material process and a fictional, illusory space.

The work occupies a similar territory to contemporary Artists such as Tomory Doge, Matthias Weischer and Dexter Dalwood in its concern with painting as both process and image. Also, in its concern with man and his relationship to the landscape; the interaction of culture and nature.

These paintings, like the above Artists, contain imagery of landscapes uninhabited by the figure, yet occupied with deserted architectural structures, or some reminant of human activity. It differs however through its being informed by the reductive and more abstract approach to form of Artists such as Basil Beattie and Prunella Clough. This is seen in its pared down and economical apperance, and through the vibrant and intuitive use of colour.

Qualifications and training

2007, MA Fine Art Painting, Bath Spa University, Bath

2004 BA Fine Art Painting, Falmouth College of Arts, Falmouth, Cornwall

 

Degree Show

2007 MFA Exhibition, Bath Spa University Bath