The Decoys 1940

Conroy Maddox made this surreal painting called The Decoys with oil paint. I imagine he made it in his studio, surrounded by all his books and strange objects. The painting shows two figures, or maybe they’re beings made of shapes and colour. It’s like a puzzle or a game, putting them together and moving them about. There’s a feeling of awkwardness or unease. The way the colours clash and the shapes don’t quite fit makes the experience unsettling. That pink river at the bottom is pretty great, isn’t it? I can imagine Maddox taking pleasure in laying down that brushstroke, letting the paint glide and pool. Maybe Maddox was thinking about identity and disguise, how we present ourselves to the world. It's like a collage, piecing together different elements to create something new. We're all a bit like that, I suppose.