The MOON LANDINGS AT 50
oil on canvas
I’ve been developing a series of paintings connected with the Moon Landings at 50. I first encountered the iconography of the moon landings at art school in Thailand. The University Library held a full run of Life Magazine; including a special 1969 issue on the landings. Mid-century popular culture and media has a strong influence on my work. There’s something intriguing about Life Magazine’s monochrome images of the moon; the black & white photographs juxtaposed with the magazines use of bold, flat colour.
This contrast is something I wanted to work with in my paintings. The iconic 1969 photographs of the moon were a radical departure from popular visions of the moon as a flat disc. Oil paint, as a medium lends itself to explorations of depth-perception. This series contrasts flat bold colour with a sense of depth created by the texture and consistency of paint. Ways of seeing and representing the moon are shaped by optical technology: telescopes, photographic techniques. There’s something interesting in returning to an old medium, like oil paint, to see and represent the moon on this important anniversary.