James King - Fur coat with pebblecrete, 2021 - Ink on paper - 20x14.5cm (33.5x27cm framed)- Black timber shadow box frame

This artwork was exhibited in James King's solo exhibition 'These People', held at Mr Minty's in March 2021.  

Of the series, King said: "I feel a deep connection with the past and where we’ve all come from. There’s something so theatrical and mysterious about an old photograph with a person as the central focus. We were never meant to see these images! They were very private familial acts of remembering a moment. Now images taken on phones are for all to see. There are times when I’ve found a new image that I’ve wanted to paint but it’s such a rarity and it never gets into my head like an image from the past.

The perfect photograph speaks to me. It has to be painted and brought to life without changing the original composition... I feel that would almost be a betrayal of the magic of that moment when it was captured. The more I do this I feel like I’m honouring the person/people in the image but also the act of recording an important moment in someone’s life."

The title of the exhibition was important to King. "These People" implies that his subjects are still with us and that their stories still have relevance. King celebrates their stories and brings them to life. 

Artwork location: Hobart