Voices (2017) Original Oil Painting by James Henry Johnston

The inner voices distort the outer reality. But what voices. What are these voices? Voices from the past? Voices from the future calling us on. Voices of regret? Voices in a mental health sense?
Voices echoing our previous misdoings? Voices guiding us to our next?

This is the second painting in a series of paintings I have embarked on, called "Sinister Selfies"; a project of paintings which distorts the idea of selfies. Instead of being snapshots of rampant narcissism in various sunny or celebratory locations, they instead invite and allow the viewer into a world which implies darker human realities such as addiction, co-dependency, trauma, terror, abuse, disgust, self loathing, disintegration of self and dissociation.
All areas of human experience close to my heart, so to speak.
Instead of snapshots of mindless self idolatry these sinister selfies give us a peak into other's lives and their discordant emotions and psychology and also into our shared communally lives generally and more presciently.
They reveal the aspects of self and humanity we would rather hide away, the sometimes unpalatable, even disturbing reality behind the facade we maintain in public.
Essentially I use a icon of our time, the Smartphone selfie, to turn a our gaze onto so-called darker elements of the human condition, mainly using heightened vibrant colour, distorted imagery and odd sized canvas.

Materials used:

oil on linen canvas

Details:

• Oil painting on Canvas
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 40 x 30 x 2cm (unframed)
• Ready to hang
• Signed on the front
• Style: Urban and Pop
• Subject: People and portraits