Simon Pike

The paintings are composed of layers of paint, ink and medium with varying degrees of transparency which result in a high gloss, glass like surface reminiscent of the screen. These layers are a combination of the digitally processed content sourced online and a more traditional painterly, gestural approach. This application of layer upon layer of content consisting of 'outlines' and 'fills' reflects the digital environments of the illustrator or Photoshop software packages which are so instrumental in the process of the paintings development. This process involves a constant back and forth between the studio and the digital realm, repeatedly photographing the painting then feeding these images back into the computer where elements are digitally added to the composition and then transferred back to the painting via digitally cut vinyl stencils.

These works explore the fractured and fluid temporalities, the collisions and juxtapositions of subjects and the mix of virtual and real in digital culture which is increasingly defining our world. Where the line between reality and fiction is becoming increasingly ambiguous as fluid information seamlessly flows from one user to another in our always-already networked world.