During the period of COVID-19 lockdown, and whilst sharing a house and makeshift studio, we decided to try painting collaboratively. Through this evolved a pattern of working in ‘shifts’, each of us taking turns to add new layers, shapes and intersections between our individual gestural languages. We worked on many paintings at once, flipping the works often to find new readings and points of interest.

In the early stages, we employed looser painting techniques to get into a rhythm and see what emerged rather than planning compositions, so very little was decided. Later in the process there was always a point at which the work suddenly became ‘serious’ and we found ourselves talking about the next step, so every move became conscious and deliberate. These joint decisions were about shapes, colours and how we wanted the work to ‘flow’.

In working collaboratively we each brought a different energy to the works. With a mix of bold and carefully made marks we often fed off each other's painterly gestures and met somewhere in the middle, encouraging each other to take on new sections of a canvas.

The production of these paintings was performative in the sense that many conversations we had while painting were not about the works but about daily activities, absurd hypotheticals and completely nonsensical discussions. Snippets of these conversations were used in titling each work.

Have you ever had that feeling when you’re trying to think of what you’re thinking about, but can’t figure what it is you’re actually thinking? And then you get freaked out because you think you’ve lost any ability to think because all you think about is not knowing what you're thinking about? Yeah, neither.

H: You Can Freeze Chicken Forever. A: No. H: Yes You Can. A Three Months Maybe, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
1130mm x 1000mm

A: I’m Running Out Of That Blue. H: You’ve Given It a Good Run, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
1130mm x 1000mm

H: Shit Happens. A: Shit Happens, You Get Over It, You Make a Podcast, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
1130mm x 1000mm

H: Isn’t He Dead? A: Exactly…, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
1130mm x 1000mm

A: It’s All Good, I’m Alright. H: Or It’s Bored Of Us?, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
1130mm x 1000mm

H: I’ve Never Seen You Eat Miso Soup In My Life! A: I Have Eaten Miso Soup In Our House. H: In This House? A: No, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
1130mm x 1000mm

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