OVERHEAD
For Overhead Chapman presents a new body of paintings made following their recent return to the neighbourhood in which they lived, twenty five years ago. In a time of change- whilst building a future- the past becomes different; you become different. Engaging with ideas of isolation, identity and the passing of time, Overhead considers the changing of life, holding onto the old to consider the new.
A wide-eyed, blonde haired protagonist with childishly blue eyes, pink skin and yellowed hair stands alone in various scenarios. We see this figure, a caricature of Chapman, situated in fantastical and impossible spaces.
Purposefully peering eyes look fixedly beyond the frame. Searching; looking. In Cartwheel a gap has been ripped open within a fence revealing a vortex, a tennis ball with a stream of pearls spiralling from its centre. The character stands alone contemplating their place, the impossibility of choice, and the long process of working towards new futures. The dualities of, front/back; life/death; past/future, exist in parallel throughout.
An oversized tennis ball hovers/sits just atop the head of Chapman’s protagonist in Overhead (front) and Overhead(back). The ball reflected in the large blue eyes is reminiscent of an apple on the head- a William Tell story or fable of forbidden fruits. A viridian green chain link fence parts them from a lush hedge of dog roses in full bloom, buds and hips. The fence suggests the presence of a court. The court is isolated from the surrounding landscape and the game is often played alone. The lines are bold and the rules are clear. Queerness exists in straight time, carving a parallel world.
Objects and symbols from childhood are brought forward, collected and recollected. Out above the level of the head, tennis balls float, spin and orbit in a dense background of space. Within Deep Field Chapman remembers a toy bought from a boot-fair, as a child. The toy is a small Perspex box with a space scene in the background. At the centre four spaceships spin on a rotating pole. 4 pairs of balls of red, green, yellow and blue are to be flicked into these spaceships using a thumb-operated flicker. Every ball is a head. A person.
Hamish Chapman lives and works in London and is represented by Kendall Koppe, Glasgow.
Recent solo exhibitions include Courtship, Meadow Mill, Dundee (2022); Love Game, Kendall Koppe, Glasgow (2022) and Scattered Pearls, Windsor Terrace, Glasgow (2021). Forthcoming projects include Absence makes the heart, general information,London (group show, 2022), and a solo exhibition with Robert’s, Glasgow in December. They will also present new works at Frieze London with Kendall Koppe.
