The Atlas Paintings
An Introduction by Steven Lowe
Billy Childish's paintings are made in direct response to his immediate and remembered experiences. And, through their sensual and physical manifestations they are an embodiment of this experiential existence rather than being mere pictorial representations of the world we live in. The act of painting itself has become synonymous with the physical and emotional journey it took to make the paintings in the first place and, the results are an engagement with life and not about an engagement with life.
Childish paints quickly and vigorously, rarely reworking or over-painting the initial marks. Through this process an immediacy and fresh vibrancy are achieved, but pictorial success can be illusive and the same painting may have to be made several times (sometimes over a period of many years), each one leading to a new voyage of discovery. Childish is the master of great beauty and discomfort. Fluid painting underpinned by confident drawn marks of charcoal vie with incompleteness, brevity and a gloriously, gnarled hamfistedness. The colours are bold, bright and unreal, the scenes (invariably of specific times and places) seem timeless and of any place, and the figures (invariably the artist or people known to the artist) seem to anonymously merge with both natural wonder about them and the very fabric of the painting itself.
Despite the directness of the paintings themselves, this exhibition is the result of a series of abstruse, playful and romantically charged devices that lead to a field trip in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa to walk, sketch and photograph the experience. The paintings were then made on the artist's return at his studio in Whitstable, Kent.
This field trip, and many others both local and international, was organised by The Band of Historical Hill Walkers, a group founded by "Danger" Bill Henderson* (aka Billy Childish) in 2007, and includes amongst its members the artist Guy Hamper (aka Billy Childish).
The mandate of the B.H.H.W. is "To get outside, breath the air and engage with the world for a few moments. Along the way we make pinhole photographs, or draw and paint the scenes before us - taking time to be present and amazed by the world.
Whether hiking 15 miles or just strolling a few hundred yards onto a salt marsh the Historical Hillwalker pauses and interprets the scene before them, seeing the world rather than merely glancing at it. In this way we engage with the colours, the play of light and the atmosphere and by doing so become whole and happier.
The same ethos applies to all areas of life, for instance, choosing clothes and kit made with natural fibers by people who care about what they are doing and by prefering food that is grown with respect for the enviroment and producer. In this way the Historical Hillwalker endevours to make a positive difference and encourge the 'right thing' as much as he/she can." (Reproduced from www.historicalhillwalkers.com)
Such ideals seem emblematic of a yester-year in culture where the pursuit of a radical change in the totality of our lives and a unification between art and life were more common currency; to a time when artists really believed they could make a difference. But rather than being stuck in the past, Childish is emphatic in his attempt to drag such ideas into the 21st century, to lead by example (perhaps an outmoded notion in itself) and fearlessly make art that is genuine and radical at it's inception and to be unabashed in a quest for personal improvement, love and beauty in the world.
Childish's paintings are as such, like cyphers to such ends, backed up by nearly 3 decades of ceaseless creative activity in writing, music and cultural commentary. And, just as Billy is not shy with his opinions and a willingness to share with the world his life experiences (both good and bad), he is not shy of colour or paint and the ecstatic liberation found in the application of these materials and, the results (both good and bad) are sometimes difficult, but mostly rewarding…. much like a field trip to the Atlas Mountains in North Africa wearing old fashioned kit.
* Bill Henderson was the name Childish's tutor at Saint Martin's School of Art who was instrumental in his expulsion for rebellious behaviour.
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