The Paper Scapes                                                  Click on image to enlarge
A microscopic cell hovers close to a volcano, a long sleeved t-shirt hangs next to a shock absorber and a gigantic one eared rabbit peers at me as I try to make sense of Russell Thoburn’s ‘Paper Scapes’. My mind has fallen into the trap of looking for something recognisable, a familiar object or image to anchor the works in my reality. And this is where Thoburn’s strength lies, his ‘scapes’ hover tantalising close between abstraction and representation, cubist collage, cartoons, modernist symbols and Matisse cut-outs. His world of shapes and motifs suggest and allude but yet don’t refer directly to imagery, they tease and play with our expectations.  

At first appearance they look like paintings, colourful and vibrant, intense and elaborate, carefully balancing the chaotic with a blend of lyrical playfulness. The boundless energy of a child’s playground or the endless frenzy of modern living where everything seems to move at 100 mph and everything seeks our gaze. I find myself constantly shifting from one form to another, being pulled in numerous directions. Colours scream and shout at me, motifs conceal and reveal themselves, small pieces of paper are scattered like confetti, at the same time lines meander across the surface, part jigsaw, part jungle. Structures appear incomplete, solid forms are shattered into fragments and appear to circulate or float in a world void of gravity. Thoburn embraces opposite forces, the organic/inorganic, man made/natural, internal/external and somehow weaves these elements into an elaborate composition, with a whimsical flair the works encourage us to be curious and explore.
 
I am reminded of the works of Bosch, where the Dutch medieval artist fills his worlds with magical beings such as Mad Meg with trees growing out from her ears and eyebrows made from jugs. Thoburn's answer is to simplify the forms. Where Bosch's characters peer down into a black hole or cavern, Thoburn's cavern will be a choice of colour or form, making them much more ambiguous and open to interpretation. The viewer decides whether they see a growth sandwiched between a volcano and oil rig or just 'bits of paper'.
                                                                             
Both artist produce densely populated topst-turvy worlds with characters or forms that lurk or hide whilst others are partly concealed or undergo transformation. With Thoburn it may be the changing of a colour, tearing the paper instead of cutting it with his scalpel, the merging, overlapping or morphing of forms. With Bosch it's more likely to be the taking of familiar forms and placing them in unusual situations, attaching the head of a fish upon a woman, having a flock of birds fly from her exterior or playing with scale or our expectations.

In 2009 there are no great tales left to be told, Russell Thoburn seems to realise this for the only tales he tells us refer to simple moments; a moment of curiosity, intrigue or a moment of visual pleasure.                     In 2009 there are no great tales left to be told, Russell Thoburn seems to realise this for the only tales he tells us refer to simple moment

Gavin Broad