Have you recently felt the cold isolation of four solitary walls? A blue cave can swallow you if you let it.
After what feels like an eternity of darkness a dream begins ― in this dream the cave walls begin to crumble, and an opening is revealed. You breathe in the expanse, taste salty sea air, and find the courage to step forward. As your eyes adjust to the light, you look out at the fresh horizon, and there, you see it - a pinpoint of light. What awaits in this new vista isn’t cold blue, but a welcoming blaze of warm orange. You know that you need to escape. Now or never.
In his 10th solo show, Chris Denovan invites you to search beyond your isolated cave, where X marks the spot on an imagined map. Escape Island Right Now! acts as a vessel on which Denovan asks you to climb aboard and set off on a voyage to a new world, a better world, a fantasy island paradise.
In this world, relics of antiquity mingle with familiar objects. Figures from ancient mythologies heroically rise out of the sea to greet you or find themselves submerged in swirling eddies of viridian green. Otherworldly flowers erupt from sculpted head vases and giant billboards emerge from a pthalo sea, promising an adventure close at hand. Horizon lines slice across tropical coloured canvases and a makeshift raft carries exotic figures searching through dark waters for a new beginning.
Carefree elements of nature invite you to relax with friends in lush fields, twirl around colossal ruins or linger in a plum stained moonlit lagoon.
In this body of work, Denovan demonstrates his skill as a painter, as the artist delicately pairs detailed figuration with intuitive abstraction. Illustrative lines are complemented by bold gestural brushstrokes and rich textural surfaces. But be warned! Through subtle use of symbolism, Denovan presents questions that contradict the appeal of this euphoric hideaway retreat. Suddenly, serpentine forms emerge from dark whirlpools. Figures wash ashore, tumbling into strangely disjointed shapes. Crawling insects scuttle from under textured brush marks, spawning yellow ochre worms into an inky puddle. Billboards in the sea???…As the sun sets, a flash of acid green skews a horizon floating with thick oily browns.
As the illusion clears you begin to realise that the island approaching in the distance is familiar somehow. The grass green silhouette of a local landmark suggests this ideal world could be exactly the same as the one you are trying to leave. Escape Island Right Now! is a sudden exclamation ― that asks you to jump into the unexpected, to face your dreams, and make sure they become your reality. Embark on the adventure to search for your island, but remember; it could be anywhere, it could be nowhere, it could be right here.
Chris Denovan (b. 1983) lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa. Escape Island Right Now! is his 10th solo show.
