Babylon Gallery

Babylon Gallery, Waterside, Ely, CB7 4AU.

Saturday 9 February - Sunday 23 March

Jeremy Andrews, selected for the BP Portrait Award, 2007 exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, London, is an outstanding young and versatile artist whose work demonstrates his ability to move from one form to another with ease. While his portraits reflect an incredible attention to detail, subtlety and light, his landscapes, both oil and pencil drawings, display his realization of perspective and mood.

Over and above the technical skill evident in the outstanding photo-realistic portraits, there is a more philosophical concept at the heart of the work. Andrews explores the notion of self-image and how we see ourselves and, of course, how others perceive us, suggesting that there is something inherently voyeuristic about our culture. What is interesting about his portraits is that there is no idealisation of the subject, no room for interpretation; the portrait can be seen as confrontational but also as an intimate study of the person.

Andrews has taken these concepts a stage further in his recent Arts Council funded project called ‘Seeing Ourselves’. He has been working with the artist gardeners at Wysing Arts, Bourn, who are a group of people with different physical characteristics associated with their particular disability. It is a portraiture project aiming to create awareness of our preconceptions and misconceptions of people, urging the viewer not to judge others at face value.

Finally, the imposing and sublime landscapes evoke a sense of contented solitude as Andrews portrays both the stillness and vibrancy of nature within his compositions and brushwork. The characters within the paintings are at once witnessing and experiencing the landscape and could also be seen to represent the viewer. Text: Deborah Buley

Gallery Event: Saturday 9 February. 2pm.