Claudette Johnson
2017
Pastel and gouache on paper
163 x 132 cm
Leaning back onto his raised arms, this man is relaxed and deep in thought. The checked terrain of his shirt, its borders left ragged and incomplete, captivates not only our eye but also our imagination. Claudette Johnson recalled her son arriving to sit for this work in a plaid shirt: ‘I couldn’t resist the challenge it offered to set vibrant colour and pattern against a monochrome head‘. Despite Johnson’s careful observation of her sitter, her aim is that her works do not simply present a specific individual at a particular time: ‘I want them to exist beyond this moment… to speak of some other future.’