Justin Mortimer, Perimeter, 2012, oil on canvas, 183 x 183 cm
Justin Mortimer: Perimeter
Walking around Mocca’s show “Are you Alright?” Justin Mortimer’s large canvas titled Perimeter made me stop. I felt something strong, dark and brutal coming from it. The first thing that struck me were the large floating balloons. They suggested a party but the image is anything but. It took a while to recognize a figure in the bottom left corner. He is shrouded in darkness that covers most of surface of the painting. The man’s face is dark and expressionless, suggesting a brute. There is another figure but all we see is two arms seemingly sewing. They are sitting on the grass amid a scattering of balloons, and a line of washing hangs in the background adding domesticity to this strange story. Though the balloons are not dangerous in themselves their acid-colored presence made me uneasy.
What kind of party are they coming from? Did the man get beaten up or just kicked out? Do they live in this area or are they trespassers? It’s hard to guess, but it seems something went wrong and violence is apparent. They sit anonymously in this wasteland, two losers on the periphery of society.
Emese Krunák-Hajagos