Shane McGowan

 

2024 Where is Everybody?

What is a memory and where is it kept? Why does something that seems defined, solid and unclouded from a distance become so diffuse and intangible as we try to hold it and speak its name? With these images, fragments of old family photos of loved ones now departed, Shane McGowan wanted to explore the infallibility of memory, and the impact upon it of grief, loss, and, of course, the passage of time. He wanted to show that memories of lives past are like gossamer and however much we would like to, it’s impossible to step back in time and be a reliable historian.

For this series of drawings, McGowan has used soft pastels, oil pastels, coloured pencils, crayons, acrylic and whatever else is lying around his studio. He works on textured thick paper, making a concerted effort to be looser and less defined in his mark making.

 

2019 Fractured 

At a time when truth is deemed fluid and subjective, I was curious to see how the meaning of an image is determined by context. How can we be sure that an image we’re viewing is authentic and true, and does that even matter?

Focusing upon the male head, I sourced photographs from the internet: images of far right protestors and of men praying; images from wellness blogs, advertising stock photos and from gay porn. Having isolated the heads and eliminated all background and foreground noise, I added another layer of separation from the original photos by drawing them on paper.

I had been working digitally for almost twenty years and so, with these images, it was important for me to slow the process down by returning to a traditional medium. Drawing with coloured pencils provided a form of meditative concentration. Building up the layers slowly and methodically gave me a chance to sit with each head as it emerged organically.

I want these pieces to interact with each other in the space. Fractured from their original source they are now bonded in the gallery space. These images may suggest a commonality but things are never quite what they seem.

Exhibitions
solo

2024 Where is Everybody? - Tacit Art, Melbourne
2019 Fractured - Tacit Art, Melbourne
2017 Paper & Pixel - Collingwood Gallery, Melbourne
2014 Where Art Thou? - No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne

group

2025 Summer Salon - Tacit Art, Melbourne
2020 PINK - Midsumma Festival, Tacit Art, Melbourne
2003 Images 28 - The Mall Galleries, London
2002 Images 27 - Royal College of Art, London
2001 Images 26 - Royal College of Art, London