Pete Hawkins 'Behind Closed Doors'

The Outsiders is pleased to open its doors for the return of Pete Hawkins for his new solo exhibition ‘Behind Closed Doors’. This new show follows in the footsteps of his previous work featured in ‘Every Day’s a School Day’, where Pete explores the process of painting on found materials. ‘Behind Closed Doors’ sees further evolution of this method; it features modern fables painted on antique doors. Each painting possesses the slightly macabre undercurrent present in both Pete’s work and the most memorable folktales from one’s childhood. Married to the possibility a door represents, the pieces become potent fetishes representing opportunities taken or missed. The doors “Doors hold a lot of meaning,” explains Pete, “and not only as transitional points in people’s lives. There’s the inherent sense of nostalgia they bear. Plus,” as children’s writer C S Lewis knew only too well, “there’s the compelling suggestion of what may lie behind them.”

The doors, which were all salvaged from the British county of Yorkshire, are all visibly worn by the hands of time; this creates an interesting juxtaposition between the rough, coarse surfaces and Pete’s sensitive oil painting style. Behind Closed Doors sees an interesting combination of literature and classical mythologies, which at times touches on contemporary talking points.