Mande Bijelic

Dirt hit the back of my legs
6 to 25 February 200

My paintings are open to interpretation.

The everyday object is my main inspiration and interest. I wish to paint very mundane things. I am constantly on the lookout for things situated in the everyday and to draw attention to things that otherwise may go unnoticed. A lost glove, a light switch or a power point. The more mundane the more interested I am. Chairs have always been important to me.

I enjoy simplicity and detail, things that may go unnoticed. My immediate surroundings inspire me, the corners, the walls and the doorways.

Text is an important aspect to my paintings as every painting comes with a sentence or a few words that relate to the image. I do this because the painting is more complete to me with a word or two. They may be considered visual poems. The words in most cases come before the painting. I will happen to speak a sentence and it may sound strange or significant and I will write it down, for example DIRT HIT THE BACK OF MY LEGS. I will then attempt to come up with a painting to go with the words. Sometimes I won't either. I always have a list of paintings with sentences ready for me but more often than not I will get an idea and immediately do a painting. I prefer the more spontaneous paintings as I enjoy that neither the idea nor the painting have existed for very long at all. One morning something crosses my mind and in next few minutes the painting starts coming into existence.

I enjoy the paint. I like the way that it goes on and the time spent at the canvas.

Humour is an important element. This aspect comes from my way of seeing things and noticing details. The way that I interpret something is a mixture of visual perception and interpretation of an image using words to add some significance to the image, to make it more ordinary or more interesting. I enjoy a painting that would seem to some to be a complete waste of time to paint and would hold no interest to most. The more mundanely ridiculous the better. The more pointless the more interesting. As in SAUCEPAN WITH A RATHER LARGE SHADOW.

It could be said that my paintings are obscure snapshots of everyday life which document the always seen but never celebrated.

Mande Bijelic
January 2004