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Wednesday 27 April 2016

This is not a rehearsal: A celebratory retrospective of the artwork of Steve Fairnie

'This is not a rehearsal' is a celebratory retrospective of the artwork of Steve Fairnie to be held at Coate Studios in Hackney from Friday 29th April - Sunday 1st May: Friday 29th April (Private View), 7pm - 10pm; Saturday 30th April, 10am - 4pm; and Sunday 1st May, 10am - 4pm.

"Steve Fairnie (1951–1993) was a British musician, artist and actor, the frontman of the post-punk band Writz, and as one half, with his wife Bev Sage, of the 1980s pop outfit Techno Twins (later just The Technos)." "‘This is not a rehearsal’ is a selection of Fairnie’s artworks created in RYC Cellar Studios in Bristol during the late ‘80s until his unexpected death in 1993.

A sculptor in essence, materiality was important to his process. Fairnie used layered collages of oils, oil bars, charcoal and acrylics. He would sketch, draw, scratch and paint on surfaces to develop a rich texture that he would then scrape back to reveal other possibilities. He would often revisit works to allow the surfaces to evolve organically over time.

Early childhood memories in Fraserburgh had a profound affect on his development as an artist and inspired works unafraid to tangle with the fragility of life. Recurring images include fairgrounds, boats, mythical figures, crosses, stones and circles. Parallel to this, his life-long fascination with performers, preachers, dictators, magicians and evangelists fuelled his subject matter. His own charismatic performances and life on the road gave Fairnie a depth of personal experience in understanding the impact of characters in the public domain using and abusing their positions. ‘The Evangelist’ (a.k.a. ‘Billy Graham’) stands as a good example of this fascination."

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Writz - Private Lives.

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