"Images emerge out of my designs to become more clearly defined as you move away from them," Tim Christie.
Proudly presented by The Poi Room, E M E R G I N A T I O N is an exhibition of new works by multidisciplinary artist Tim Christie.
A total of 23 original paintings, prints and weavings feature Tim's hallmark precision and mesmerising detail.
Tim leans on his designer origins to create the work which begins life as a highly detailed digital design. The technically-precise images are then placed against striking backgrounds and transformed into various mediums.
The precision work requires focused concentration and Tim finds himself in an almost meditative state as he disappears into the process. It's a technique that cannot be rushed, so Tim tends to listen to a podcast or music and slow down to enjoy the method.
In this latest collection, Tim has used a series of shapes appearing in spiralling patterns that gradually take form and as the viewer moves away,
E M E R G I N A T I O N takes place.
Above, The 3D effect of Tim's originals feels like braille, a relief component.
The first phase is abstract; art that the viewer experiences close up, moving into figurative art or a 3D form that emerges as you move further back. The middle phase is an interesting void where you start to see the two forms at the same time. "A different visual expression of that same concept is what people find interesting in my work - two different domains embodied in one piece of work," Tim tells us.
The use of metallic paint has added additional qualities and energy to the paintings, creating a more bespoke crafted element.
The spiral design seen throughout the collection is a visual expression of the Fibonacci sequence, a sequence proposed by Italian mathematician Fibonacci in the 12th century. In mathematics, the sequence can be simply shown with each number being the sum of the two preceding numbers. For instance 1+1=2, 1+2=3, 2+3=5, 3+5=8 and so on.
Above, Tim’s prints are the most raw digitally precise manifestations of his digital art. Clinical and precise.
To describe the process of placing the paint onto the canvas, Tim has coined a technical term - blobbing. “When I first started blobbing the paint onto the canvas I realised it would take a significant amount of time to complete each painting, in the order of 2,500 dots per piece. Every dot is a slightly different diameter. And the process can’t be rushed. The best way to put paint on is to load the brush with paint and blob it on. As you push the brush into the blob further the desired diameter is achieved and each dip of the brush might last only 1-2 blobs. I’m an incredibly restless person so I had to recalibrate my expectation of creating each piece of art. Once I recalibrated expectations and put on a podcast or music I could quickly get into the moment, not get agitated, get completely absorbed into the pure craft. It was almost like a return to childhood where I would sit and do pictures without any concept of time at all.”
Above, the artist at work creating the precise woven works.
Tim's weavings are a different story. Made of a bookbinding material called Buckram, all the strands are cut by a computer-driven blade. It’s pretty advanced technology, a swivel blade following the code Tim has generated. The fabric needs to be light enough to cut but strong enough to retain its integrity yet dense enough to block the material behind. Tim used two different black fabrics - matt and metallic - to achieve the chequerboard effect. The gold fabric wrapped around the canvas connects with the originals.
