Karis Hopkinson

These works are the result of the compression of a wide range of reference points inspired by my experience of modernity; the information overload of a google search, brief and dazzling pop ups on screens, headlines, a pop of verdigris in the skyline, light on the sea, a neon orange traffic cone in a grey street, water flowing, nature reclaiming, the reflections in still puddles at night, the azure tint of a modern glass building, pixelated rainbows in water drops on my phone screen. All of this is unrefined. These paintings are an attempt to refine my experience of my environs into something contained and consumable.

All of these paintings have text based elements that have undergone varying levels of distortion. The text tends to lend a familiarity and provides an immediate entry point to the image. However this familiarity is quickly undermined due to the texts abstraction, ambiguity of meaning and placement as something that is purely visual. The text is not allowed to complete its primary function, the dissemination of meaning and communication. Diminishing its legibility causes it to become form and creates a question as to whether we read it using tools that pertain to written or visual language.