2007
Oil on canvas
200 x 300cm

It is immediately apparent to the viewer that Deborah Poynton uses photographs in the process of constructing her paintings; however, the manner in which she does this is uncommon. Rather than adopting the approach of the photo-realists who meticulously translated a photographic image into paint, or following the widespread artistic practice of appropriating an image from the media, Poynton herself photographs her subjects specifically for a work that she has in her mind. Her subjects are always friends and people she knows, rather than a professional and anonymous model. As she explains:

I tend to direct the photographs rather than wait for something to present itself. If it all seems awkward, I ask them to stand up and sit down and resume the pose afresh. I do tell them where and how to sit and look. In the end, the final image of a person in the painting is usually pulled together from numerous photographs; it’s rarely derived from a single image.

She paints the figurative elements first, and only once the figures have a presence and start commanding the canvas does she start creating a spatial context for them to enact the tableau. For this purpose she once again photographs particular spaces and objects or, in the case of smaller objects, paints from life. In this dynamic and organic process of realising the painted image through photography, she seamlessly integrates the diverse and unexpected sources, and further disrupts our sense of realism by conspicuously manipulating light, colour and perspective.

Poynton exhibited four paintings at Warren Siebrits in Johannesburg in May 2007 and will show four new works at Galerie Mikael Andersen in Berlin in 2008. Her next solo show at Michael Stevenson is scheduled for the first half of 2009.

© 2007 Michael Stevenson. All rights reserved.