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Images
courtesy of the gallery SABINE WACHTERS , Brussels and Knokke
This
exhibition will show new work by John Timberlake. In the guise
of an amateur hobbyist or a competent model-maker, John Timberlake
constructs dioramas depicting English landscapes, montaged with
simulated painted clouded skies from archival images of British
nuclear tests. The work culminates in a seductive series of colour
photographs. Through recreating classical landscapes but containing
an image of modern catastrophe the works question the role of
western art in recording and constructing history. There is a
strange sense of dislocation between the various layers of the
image, contrasting our belief in the 'truth' of a photograph
with the notion of the 'art' of painting. Timberlake places himself
and the viewer amongst the onlookers causing us also to consider
who is creating and recording history. The figures all stand
passively, back to camera, surveying their actions. The images
have a disconcerting, but at the same time nostalgic quality,
highlighting the impossibility of truly representing terrible
events. This body of work, developed over the past three years,
marks Timberlake's engagement with negotiating post-modern figuration
in conjuntion with notions of the sublime. This exhibition has
been produced in association with the University of Hertfordshire
Galleries and Worcester City Art Gallery. A colour catalogue
will accompany the exhibition.
'A
Focal Point Gallery touring exhibition funded by the Arts Council
of England National Touring Programme.'
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