Chris Thiel
October 2015

Courting Disaster

This body of work progresses my themes of anxiety and disaster which continue to be at the centre of my art practice.

The new paintings shift the focus to actual, man-induced disasters. They are inspired by found images that are reworked in Photoshop and then painted using my preferred medium of oil on board. As with my previous paintings, they are vehicles for conveying a sense of the emotional and psychological; the external world becomes a means for exploring inner states of being. 

Upon reflection I can see that the paintings are generated as a response or an antidote to “too bright a life”. Living in an affluent first world country we have little to rub against so I feel compelled to create my own disasters to create contrast and texture to the predictable, safe and sometimes bland life that is on offer. Making these paintings allows me to recklessly court disaster but from a very safe distance: exhilarating (if somewhat disturbing)! 

 
Image details:  Terminal, oil on board 90 x 120cm, 2015