Likeness and presence; a precise complication

This is one of three essays in the catalogue for the exhibition A Sort of Night to the Mind; a Kind of Night for our Thoughts. The exhibition surveys the work of 23 established painters who engage with questions of the relationship between materiality and illusion. The essay, written from the perspective of an exhibitor in the show, explores these notions with reference to Stanley Cavell's writings on presence and Hal Foster's critique of the exhibition The Painting of Modern Life.The research for this essay was conducted through practice over a number of series of paintings, utilising a method of applying graphite powder to produce illusive images with a very particular reflective quality; a changeable surface responsive to the viewer’s position. The text reflects upon the experience of a particular place, analyzing the depiction and viewing of it as a self-conscious act, evoking an experience of temporality that is ‘haptic’ and embodied. The essay, seen in relation to the exhibition, seeks to demonstrate the relevance of these issues in contemporary painting practice.