Michael Robinson, Gleaner Writer

The Rail Alternative - photo by Michael Robinson

PHOTO REALISM is probably the term best used to describe the acrylic paintings of Michael Elliott currently on display at Edna Manley Colleges CAG[e] gallery. The accuracy of his renderings is enhanced by his choice of subject matter and the unusual perspectives from which they are viewed. From dead bugs to empty bottles, the artist seems to opt for objects and scenes generally disregarded by society. All the paintings are acrylic on canvas and have been produced over the last 18 months or so.

‘The Rail Alternative’ is a shot of Jamaica’s defunct railway line with New Kingston’s high-rise buildings in the distant background. Elliott has brought the deteriorated track into focus, forcing the viewer to pay attention, while muting the image of Jamaica’s modernity.

The perspective in the painting emphasises the graceful lines of the track, overgrown and rusted though it is, and evokes a stateliness that recalls the railway’s glory days. There is an implication that we need to address things which have been ignored even as we ‘advance’ as a society.

The exhibit, which opened last Tuesday, features works by ‘Flyn’, as the artist is also known, focusing on physical decay and its related textures and processes. ‘Dead Flesh’ is an unappetising, yet arresting, image of pieces of meat. ‘Out of Steam’ is an old kettle on an old stove, both clearly rusted and out of use. By making these objects the subject of his creative eye, Flyn has managed to show us beauty in a side of life most people miss.

strong draughtsmanship

Elliott’s strong draughtsmanship is exemplified in ‘The June Fellowship’. This painting of a collection of dead bugs appears to have been produced using a photograph as reference. An extreme close-up creates a highly unusual image while Flyn’s brush gives a life to the scene that belies the true status of the insects. His observation of the behaviour of light and shadow in this piece is exquisite.

A collection of empty beer bottles in ‘Empties’ and an assortment of bloody used syringes in ‘The Leech Trail’ seem shiny amid the images of corroded metal. Likewise, the cigarette butts in ‘Extinguished’ aren’t visibly deteriorating; they still fit the bill, however, as they represent a social decay only hinted at in the other works. Drinking and smoking are both socially acceptable and perfectly legal paths to self-destruction. The syringes represent illicit drug use, a less accepted but highly efficient method of ruination. By zooming in on them, Elliott puts them in our faces so they can scream at us themselves.

Like much art, Flyn’s work is best seen for oneself, as descriptions only approximate the experience and risk limiting interpretations. Even as Elliott portrays his version of reality, each painting has as many meanings as it has viewers. Although there is a tendency to take work rendered in a realistic style at face value, it is essential to keep an open mind. Artists use metaphors that mean different things to different people. They channel energies that traverse space and time.

The important thing to remember is that there is no one answer, no single truth. There are truths.