c3 Contemporary Artspace, July 2015
Tucker’s hyper-atmospheric water scenes evolve from a painting process that is both therapeutic and celebratory. Saturated with fantasy, they are almost devotional in their unreality. They seek to express unconscious truths for the Artist, both positive and negative, and tap into the collective symbolism of water. But this tour of unrestricted fantasy is to be consumed with a strong dose of self-awareness and irony. Each image is retrospectively disrupted by a sticker-like graphic, an ever-present reminder of the context they operate within. These motifs remind the viewer that despite all the saccharine sincerity, these paintings are documents of the pursuit of an impossible state. They may depict an emotionally liberated wonderland, but it is disrupted and labelled by self-imposed critique. Despite the heady joys of painting and personal symbolism, the Artist will forever be pulled back to the surface.
JESSIE WILLOW TUCKER 