Phil Aston Williams Nevermind

For me painting speaks in open-ended languages or systems that may debunk and short circuit rather than form hierarchical, rigid and authoritarian approaches to understanding. Abstraction, pop, surrealism, romanticism and decoration in my paintings all work as transformative conduits.

In Nevermind the face of the late grunge rock star Kurt Cobain is shrouded behind hair, a waterfall and visible traces of the painting’s manufacture. The image is dream-like and the singers identity is hidden to the point it could form an imagined mask, perhaps worn by the viewer wishing to cry out to a screaming crowd or simply sing in the shower.

- Phil Aston Williams, 2014