Grasshopper 1990

‘Doig’s paintings create memories from mazes of disorienting detail. They show something familiar that nevertheless looks unsettlingly weird, or something weird that looks familiar.’ – Richard Shiff This is one of several paintings by the contemporary artist Peter Doig (b. 1959) to bear the title ‘Grasshopper’. Created using oil on canvas in 1990, this work adopts an insect viewpoint. We see the landscape through the eyes of a grasshopper on the ground! The painting is structured in a tri-partite composition. This means the canvas is divided into three horizontal bands. Each layer is occupied by distinct sections of colour. Doig’s technique of separating the canvas pays homage to the Abstract Expressionists Mark Rothko (1903-1970; known for his rectangular colour field paintings) and Barnett Newman (1905-1970; known for his so-called ‘zips’). In Doig’s words, ‘I did like the idea that maybe these sections… had been opened up to reveal a strip of existence.’ Here, we almost get the sense that the two planes of colour on either side of the canvas could close to swallow the scene within. The uppermost layer consists of a denim blue wash, intended to remind us of the sky. The middle layer is home to a barren desert landscape. Warm tones of orange and yellow dominate this section. It seems isolated and desolate, yet the presence of the buildings clearly tells us that the area is inhabited. This creates a human connection. There’s one more sign of life in this painting. Look closely – can you spot it? Towards the right side of the canvas, just in front of the white outbuilding, Doig has included a lone figure. The tiny scale of this figure creates a feeling of mystery. Who is this person? Are they all alone in the vast expanse of earth?