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31 August / 06 October 2024
MICHAEL CARNEY
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Where the Sidewalk Ends engages with the dualities that exist within our perceptions, blending the boundaries between what we see as safe and what we fear. In these paintings and ceramic works, landscapes are reimagined as spaces of both comfort and tension, drawing the viewer into a world where interpretations are intentionally fluid and destabilising.
Carney’s exploration plays out in a series of vignettes where each scene carries a dual narrative. The works invite viewers to consider how easily our minds can turn the serene into the sinister, the familiar into the uncanny.
Windows, both literal and metaphorical, are a recurring motif throughout the exhibition. These windows—sometimes suggested by the metal frames that surround the works—act as thresholds between worlds. They offer glimpses into spaces that are at once inviting and unsettling, allowing the viewer to peer into moments of quiet ambiguity where the line between observer and observed is delicately blurred.
Carney’s art invites contemplation on the fine balance between opposing forces—beauty and fear, safety and danger, inside and outside. Through this interplay, the works encourage viewers to craft their own narratives, offering a space where imagination can roam freely, shaping personal interpretations from the tension and contrasts presented.
