Chloe
Jenkins

I sometimes have trouble existing in the present. I worry about how quickly time passes and the inevitability of a beautiful moment becoming a memory. Through these paintings, I want to pause beautiful moments so that they may be fully appreciated. I do this by retrieving my images from fi lms, pausing the moving pictures so that they exist as a single frame. This act of pausing a perfectly curated moment from a movie gives me a sense of control over time and allows me to appreciate every detail without the pressure that it will all disappear. Movies act as a means through which time can be subverted, and I do not feel subjected to the normal anxieties that come with existence in everyday life.

In these fi lm stills, time is always present. Whether through a light-fi lled window, or a neon sign, a specifi c moment in time is being projected onto these scenes. These times are conveyed through strong directional lighting, which is often the result of artifi cial stage lighting mimicking natural and ambient light, creating ambiguity around the reality of these moments. When I paint these images, I exaggerate the lighting and enhance the colour palette to emphasize both time and mood. I want to create a moment of contemplation and stillness, where viewers can be aware of the things that would not normally be noticed in a movie scene or in real life, and experience the moment in its entirety, without feeling rushed. I wish to restore a sense of control over time and create a lasting still image that captures a fl eeting moment in time.