CRASH PAINTINGS

It may seem like an unlikely source of inspiration for a new suite of works – but for inner-city Sydney artist Patrick Dagg it was his ‘Damascus moment.’

“I had a car accident last July where I had been drinking and ran up the back of a taxi. I wrote my car off but luckily nobody was hurt … I decided I had get a grip and focus my energy into something positive. Hence Crash Paintings.”

From his ten-year career in disabilities, specifically working with those suffering from brain injuries, Dagg has an acute sense of how fragile life can be. “As a society we often take our health for granted and we should celebrate what we have more often. The crash has kind of opened me back up and given me the courage to paint freely again.”

Writhing with untangled knots of vibrant colour and a consistent use of fluid, linear movement, the paintings (and complementary ceramic pieces) impart a deliberate sense of ‘contained chaos.’ Nods to influences Jean Dubuffet and Emily Kngwarreye are also clearly evident.

“There is a journey in the gestures of the work,” says Dagg, “and as you view them more as a whole you can see this.” A journey that has evidently been somewhat difficult – but at least to some extent, cathartic.

Feb 10-11, (opening night Feb 10, 6-8pm), Gallery 583, 583 Elizabeth St, Redfern, patrickdagg.com