First Post

Nic Pehkonen, Brown Bunker, 2010

Household emulsion paint on unstretched canvas hung off 4 x tarpaulin clips

Widest dimensions 224cm x 180cm

This painting is one of an ongoing series of works that has evolved from a growing interest in military architecture, associated in particular with the Cold War. This includes a whole array of (aesthetically) weird and wonderful structures such as bunkers, missile sites, airfields, hangars, control towers, and radar installations, all usually involving a lot of concrete and metal.

More often than not I find I am especially drawn to buildings and places in a state of decay, either brought about through abandonment or just general wear and tear. There is something about this combination that has a powerful visual appeal. My intention as an artist is not to produce accurate or literal representations of buildings but works that are more suggestive of places or architectural forms and the effects of constant exposure to the elements, human intervention and the passage of time.

I prefer to work on unstretched canvas as this allows me the freedom to cut the painting to shape (either before, during or after the painting process). In this way the canvas becomes fully integral to the piece as a whole and not just an inert surface onto which an image is described. I suppose in some ways the finished piece is as much a three dimensional object as it is a painting.

Working with unstretched canvas also allows me to exploit the physical properties of the material as part of the painting process. Shrinkage and slight changing of shape is an interesting by-product of this. Plus I can work with the canvas on the floor. This gives me the option of folding the painting over on itself. By doing this when the paint is wet I can delineate areas without physically painting edges which I think can give a greater sense of both depth and solidity to the overall composition. I can also turn the canvas over, allowing it to dry face down before peeling it off the floor. These various techniques, combined with the cumulative build up of successive paint layers, often yield intricate and interesting patterns and textures.

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Here is a detail of the above painting.