Artist in Focus: Cynthia Poole

Displaced Mints II by Cynthia Poole

Quick Review
Born: Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Work: Striking and bold, many of Cynthia Poole’s paintings take food packaging, sweet wrappers and chocolate bars as their subject matter; often with a warm nostalgia for the 70s and 80s confectionery.

"I love the strident objects and carnival colours of everyday things in our riotously competitive urban environment, and celebrate them in my work."

- Cynthia Poole.

Cynthia Poole examines the forms, surfaces, and signage of everyday objects in their normal contexts and environments. She seeks out brands which are contemporary and iconic. The products depicted - a tin of beans, a bottle of vinegar, Nestle chocolate bars - are mass-market consumer items, recognisable to everyone.

Domestic objects are richly informative about their pictorially absent owners. The pyrex jug is a good example of one of her speaking objects: much more than a container for liquid, the markings imply some strenuous culinary activity, the shape indicates lifting and pouring, and the logo shows it to be a mass-produced, commercial item. Its transparency is also informative and transformative on objects behind, refracting their substance. In some of her paintings, the narrative possibilities of such objects are extended towards allegory.