NIGEL COX
SOLITUDE & THE ROAD TO EXTINCTION
Corey Helford Gallery - Gallery 2
Sat 20 October - Sat 17 November 2018
Public Preview at Corey Helford Gallery
7pm - 11pm on Saturday the 20th October 2018
Come along and bring your friends to what should be a wonderful evening.
EXTINCT II | 36" x 36" | Oil on linen
Extinct II is the left had painting of a triptych I have created around the losses of Elephants in the wild and the
struggle of Rangers to keep them alive.
Solitude & The Road to Extinction
In his latest series of paintings Nigel explores themes of solitude and extinction, drawing on a wide range of references from nature to popular culture.
He commenced work on this exhibition, twenty months ago, exploring extinction and our detachment from it in our everyday lives. The demise of spectacular creatures and destruction of habitats as we go about our lives, oblivious or indifferent to it all. He references creatures he has seen in their natural habitats . . . Elephants, Rhinoceros from Safaris in Africa and Polar Bear from the Arctic leg of his journey on the Transglobe Expedition* when he was in his early 20s . . . these beautiful creatures are now on their road to extinction.
As he was working on this theme, he started thinking about the type of world we’d be inhabiting in the future . . . after the fall of civilisation and destruction of life as we know it . . . a post apocalyptic wilderness.
Here we see imagery inspired by popular culture creeping into the backgrounds of Cox’s work.
He develops subtle discord – a disconnect between the central photorealistic figure and those materialising from the mists.
The background figures/elements are understated greyscale depictions - gentle, elusive, mirages seen through a haze.
Cox’s paintings create a mysterious, surreal environment that cleverly keeps one foot set solidly within the real world, drawing the observer into the work to explore narratives that have been subtly suggested.
To the best of our knowledge, we are the only inhabited planet in existence. To allow the demise of this incredible, unique sphere of intricate ecosystems could mean the eradication of all life in the universe.
Man’s roll in the universe should be to explore, settle, nurture, preserve . . . and proliferate throughout space . . . long after our dying sun has eradicated our world.
We are on The Road to Extinction.
Corey Helford Gallery:
310 287 2340 | Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 12 - 6pm
OWNERS: Jan Corey Helford & Bruce Helford
DIRECTOR:
Sherri J Trajan
Sherri@coreyhelfordgallery>com
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