What is at Play? Reflections on the Natural Obscurity of Desire and the Play-Element

Abstract

This thesis is a written accompaniment to a series of 10 paintings that were created in partial fulfillment for my degree of Master of Fine Arts. The paintings depict a variety of living things dogs, daffodils and humans. The settings they occupy are commonplace, for example, parks, domestic interiors, backyards and unspecified locations in a patch of road verge or against a fence. Despite the everyday elements, the resulting pictures are strange or funny in tone, I am interested in scenes that allow me to explore notions of psychological, physical, and spiritual freedom as they relate to desire and play. This writing serves as a record of my research regarding these themes and my process. I discuss my work in two themes desire, and play. I highlight cultural and artistic influences and share personal anecdotes that relate to my research, and explore theory and concepts relative to my painting practice.