Picturing
scenes of subculture, Till Gerhard’s paintings both celebrate
and question the politic of self-defined community. In Dawn,
the early morning remnants of a festival are captured with
unsettling tension. Disenfranchised figures mill about in
the aftermath, their youthful innocence corrupted by the inference
of pagan ritual and the hangover buzz of overwhelming experience.
Adding a supernatural element, Till Gerhard’s tombstones become
suggestive links between carnal and spiritual planes. Referencing
contemporary media, Till Gerhard creates unease with current
social values. Reminiscent of Super 8 film stills, Till Gerhard’s
‘photorealist’ style is easily dissembled to a more malleable
and revealing language of painting: forms lose their inferred
solidity, while colours melt and overlap to create surreal
lighting effects, making visible the taboo power of collective
energy and desire.