> Biography > C V > Artists Statement > New Work >Animations > Interviews > Links Selected Exhibitions Juncture. Painting from South Africa, 2010 Caveman Spaceman, 2008 Earthlings, 2006 Ends and Escapes, 2005 Pacifier, 2004 Fix, 2003 Hopeful Monsters, 2001 Superhuman, 1999 Momentum, 1998 Continuum, 1997 Window into the South African landscape, 1994 Contact Me

Press release for Caveman Spaceman 2008 In Caveman Spaceman, Nigel Mullins’ new show, he extends the ideas surrounding the transience of life that he began to explore in his previous show, Earthlings (2006). In Earthlings, the predominant imagery was of bleak and endless landscapes inhabited by fleeting and rather manic beings. In Caveman Spaceman, however, Mullins introduces a cooler, more objective set of images. He turns his considerable painting facility to a photographic rendering of sights with which we are so over familiar that we cease to see them: satellite dishes on chimneys, flowers, semi-industrial landscapes. These become objects of contemplation. Space, 2008 oil on canvas 100x150cm Over and Over and Over Again, 2008 oil on canvas 120x180cm Private Collection In a similar manner to the way in which Mullins has directed our focus to these objects and landscapes, he directs our angle of thought on them by the overlaying of text. And, similarly to the photographic objectivity with which he applies paint, the text is introduced in a bland font, as devoid of association as possible. Over and over and over is written into the painting of the same title, an over large, hyper vivid Morning Glory flower. This plant daily produces a flower, which is indistinguishable from the last. It lives for the duration of the morning and dies in the afternoon. It is hard not to see in this a metaphor for ourselves as humanity. If we see ourselves in the context of one of an endless line of procreation (as the text infers) then where and how do we find meaning for ourselves, both as individuals and as a species? Caveman Spaceman is the text applied to a semi-industrial landscape scattered with telephone and electricity poles. The landscape itself is an in between space. Unused by farmers for crops, game or domesticated animals, or for any industrial purpose, it has also been interfered with enough by fences and poles to not present itself as a pristine romantic landscape. The poles and lines supply us with electricity and long distance communication. In this context, the words Caveman Spaceman suggest our evolution, from emergence as a species on a still relatively unchanged Earth to our pursuit of technology. Mullins has given us a telescopic view of ourselves. Caveman Spaceman no 3. 2008 oil on canvas 120x180cm Private Collection Just Born at the Right Time, 2008 oil on canvas 120x180cm Given this telescopic view, one is inclined to read just born at the right time and for ever and ever and ever as space debris or galaxies. They are, however, close-ups of the insides of snow globes: miniature self-contained worlds. For ever and ever and ever again suggests a long-range view of ourselves, this time not only in the context of Earth, but also of Earth’s context in Space and in time. The text just born at the right time prompts a more philosophic than scientific questioning of our place in this. The themes around which this exhibition is constructed are vast in their range, but Mullins brings them into a smaller, or at least, more bite-sized proportion by applying them metaphorically to the everyday imagery that he has selected and by keeping our gaze shuttling between micro- and macroscopic views. One is prompted to not only contemplate meaning in the larger context, but that to continue to find points of focus in our day to day existence is both possible and compelling. Tanya Poole June 2008 Click on the artwork to enlarge it Still Life, 2008 oil on canvas 150x200cm Spier Collection Abyss Ayssinian, 2008 oil on canvas 100x150cm Aim To Please, 2008 oil on canvas 120x180cm Private Collection It will be OK, 2008 oil on canvas 120x180cm Many Many Lonely Hours, 2008 oil on canvas 100x150cm Private Collection Good Fortune, 2008 oil on canvas 120x180cm For Ever And Ever And Ever, 2008 oil on canvas 150x200cm Got Lucky, 2008 oil on canvas 150x200cm Nandos Turkey Collection