Math Son of Mythonwy 2016

Joe Machine made 'Math Son of Mythonwy' and the colours are wild - earthy reds and greens against the cool blues of the guards uniforms, all set in this fantastical space. I wonder what it was like for Joe to make this? Perhaps like conjuring up an ancient myth, where every brushstroke is a kind of incantation. The paint isn't trying to trick us, it’s applied in flat colours and thin layers, which gives this otherworldly feel to the scene. Look at the wavy lines of the giant's hair, that almost seem to have a life of their own. I feel like those lines and textures help communicate an emotional world, a kind of dream state. Does the painting tell a story? What if it is a moment pulled from an epic poem? Or maybe from another dimension. Painting is this embodied conversation across time, and, like painters, we’re always borrowing and remixing and creating. It’s not about knowing what it is, but feeling it, questioning it, and letting it change you.