Time Travels

By Sharne Wolff

Paul White can’t lay claim to be the first artist captivated by the passage of time, but in Time Travels he displays a unique take on one of arts’ grand themes with a series of realistic pencil drawings on paper. Although White originally studied in Sydney, later completing his Masters in Los Angeles, this is his first Sydney show for a number of years.

On several occasions the artist has returned to the deserts of the U.S. to source imagery for his work. Haunted drawings of abandoned cars, planes and motorbikes are strangely sentimental and act as poignant reminders of big dreams and forgotten experiences. Thoughtlessly abandoned in their desert graveyards, these once mobile vehicles are now silent and alone, emphasised by large areas of negative space in the composition of each picture. Each awaits reclamation by the near-absent landscape, a process of slow disintegration that may take up to several human lifetimes. The quiet beauty of each subject is instilled with an appreciation for society’s rejected and neglected.

For the second part of this series, White has used photographs from his childhood to introduce a human presence to his work. His cars, motorbikes and horses are now moving in the landscape although White’s subdued palette gives his drawings a vintage feel.

Until November 24

MiCK Gallery, Paddington

Pic: Paul White Black & Blue (phoenix firebird), pencil on paper
40 x 53cm. Courtesy the artist and MiCK Gallery.