Have you ever gone back to places you visited as a kid and found that they were nothing like what you’d been remembering all this time? Perception can be muddled by age, memory, and association. The work of UK artist Stephen Thorpe speaks to our distorted perceptions of place and reality.
We might associate a place with a certain feeling, due to the memories created there, sometimes good, sometimes bad. In our travels, I’ve definitely found that distance and time softens my memories of some places. The town I couldn’t wait to leave, I can now look back on fondly. Well, sort of.
Sometimes, we might remember a place altogether differently than the reality of that spot. Thorpe’s paintings jumble reality with transparent planes and skewed perspectives. What looks vaguely familiar seems just a bit abstracted and absurd.
If you’d like to see more work by Stephen Thorpe, please visit his website. Love his work enough to make it your own? Selected works are available at Saatchi Online, including some works as prints. Accessible, affordable art. It’s a good thing.
All images via the artist’s website. Artist found via Saatchi Online.