I have recently graduated from the University of Leeds with a First in Fine Art (International) BA Hons. The images that I paint utilise the conventions of cinematography to present ‘staged’, fictitious scenes where time has been stopped and extended. These frozen moments are deliberately ambiguous, inviting the viewer to inject their own emotions, motivations and narrative context into the scene, thereby avoiding limiting interpretation. However, there are reoccurring themes that I am consistently drawn to, one of which is travel - where the people depicted within the canvases occupy transient locations. I am drawn to the mystery of the strangers in these settings; everyone around you has a destination, a reason to go and a story to tell. I find few places as conducive to self reflection and internal analysis as the time in-between destinations, as Alain de Botton put it, ‘journeys are the midwives of thought’.

The characters in my paintings are often found in moments of profound self awareness, internally examining the situations that they have found themselves in. It is often noted that my paintings depict moments of melancholy. Whilst this may be true, I don't necessarily think that they should make you feel sad. Like with a slow song or a sad book, it is possible to be consoled and comforted by the recognition of these emotions in others.

Life in Rain Oil on Canvas, 120 x 50cm, 2006
The Letter Oil on Canvas, 120 x 50cm, 2007
20:46 Oil on Canvas, 100 x 50cm, 2006

E: simpson658@hotmail.com
W: www.joe-simpson.co.uk
P: 07912144935