After Image: Josh Foley

In his hometown of Launceston, Josh Foley’s presence is ubiquitous. An invitation from the artist for a drive or a walk leads through museums, galleries, and restaurants, or garages, clinics, and private residences which either house Josh’s works or are adorned with his murals.

Josh’s connections to Tasmania, and Launceston in particular, are deep and personal. The local museum displays a portrait of one of his ancestors, a nineteenth-century worthy, who contributed generously to the city’s charitable and public institutions. With at least five generations calling Launceston home, Josh’s geographical location is among contributing factor to the unique qualities of his art. Unburdened by the constant exposure to major museums or the dominant art market trends, Josh’s vision has an enviable freedom to foment and evolve.

Aptly summed up in the exhibition’s title, AfterImage, his paintings can be best described as reconstructed images recalled from one’s visual memory bank. Certain sections are brought back vividly, others are but mere phantoms, often abstracted and embellished with the seemingly unrelated vignettes brought forth from the subconscious.

The broad iconography within Josh’s works reflects his erudite knowledge and inquisitiveness. In his studio, the shelves groan under the weight of voluminous art books; the cork boards are heavy with layers of reference images; computers stand at the ready to perform image searches through complex algorithms. These diverse influences and visual stimuli coalesce in an infinite variety of ways within the pieces in the present exhibition.

Portraits, landscapes, and still lives from the Old and Modern Masters as well as images from comic books, advertising materials, personal photographs, and social media collide in a kaleidoscopic microcosm. Images converse with each other creating overlapping iconographic connotations and semantic associations. The viewer is integral to the ongoing evolution of the pieces through personalised interpretations and unexpected conjectures.   

Josh’s creative processes are laborious and time-consuming, requiring the artist to designate—and traverse physically between—different areas of his studio. Inchoate concepts are visualised with the sophisticated imaging techniques. Acrylic pigments lay the foundation. Gesso additives enhance the three-dimensionality of the (at times) highly textured surfaces. Oil pigments accentuate the shimmering, jewel-like appearance of the finished pieces.

The resulting works demand to be experienced ‘in the flesh’ to appreciate the intensity of individual pigments; the delicate interplay of visual references; and the powerful thrust of textures into the third dimension.