Chargeurs Artist Residency 2023

Whilst walking the streets of Marseille, I found myself captivated by the allure of painting the strangers I pass by, their lives interwoven in the fabric of the city. Each encounter feels more than merely a chance sighting.

 In an age of hyperconnectivity, the act of observing the lives of these unknown individuals took on a new dimension in my painting practice. To be in a city and know no one, meant I had to find a way of finding subjects to paint.  The act of people watching reoccurs in my practice, it requires a gaze which becomes a virtual window into the lives of strangers. On this occasion, my voyeuristic exploration is fuelled by our digital age's insatiable appetite for connection and documentation. The city of Marseille became my theatre, and the people of Marseille became unwitting actors, acting out a complex play of existence.

I discovered many of the characters on my daily visit to Plage des Catalan. The beach is a ten-minute walk from Vallons des Auffes where artist residency took place. Each subject in this series of paintings I encountered more than once. Marseille being the second biggest city in France, makes it almost unbelievable that you could recognise the same face more than once.

Every day, like a ritual, I made my way there.  At precisely the same hour, a silent performance unfolded before my eyes, revealing the immutable characters of this coastal stage. A homeless figure, perched upon a weathered bench, became an enduring fixture, wearing the same tattered clothes that bore witness to countless sunrises and sunsets.

As the day wore on, another character emerged: a man, clad in beige swimming trunks that mirrored the hue of the shore, a vibrant orange towel underneath his skin, which was heavily bronzed by endless encounters with the Mediterranean's embrace. This person became a living canvas, his form almost becoming one with the beach itself.