‘Untitled (FS)’ 2016
Daniel Boyd Untitled (FS) 2016, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Wendy Barron Bequest 2016 © Daniel Boyd
Untitled (FS) 2016
Untitled (FS) 2016 provides an intimate view of two figures seated on the ground, one watching the other light a fire with a firestick. Such is the scale and placement of the men in the composition, that the viewer becomes either a part of this tender moment, or an intruder.
The image is derived from a photograph uncovered by Boyd in an institutional archive, which records that the men are connected to Country to the south of Gimuy/Cairns. For Boyd there is a very personal association with the image due to his family connections to this region.
Plain English version
This artwork is made of oil, charcoal and archival glue on linen. In 2016, the Art Gallery of New South brought this artwork with money from the Wendy Barron Bequest. A bequest is a gift received from a person after they die.
Untitled (FS) 2016 shows two figures sitting on the ground. One is watching the other light a fire with a firestick. The size of the men and where they are placed means that, when we look at the painting, we are either part of this warm, friendly moment or an intruder.
The image is based on a photo Boyd found in an institutional archive – a collection of materials gathered by an organisation. The image shows that the men are connected to Country south of Gimuy/Cairns. Boyd’s family is from there, so the photo has personal meaning.
Untitled (FS) is a rectangular painting in landscape orientation, measuring 2.15 x 3.43 metres, in oil, charcoal, and archival glue on linen. It was painted in 2016.
This large work is a black and white painting. Two seated men are engaged in making a fire. It feels like an intimate and private moment has been captured, photographic in its detail. The surface of the work is covered in countless dots – Boyd’s signature lenses.
The figures of the men are over a metre and a half in height, seated on the earth with crossed legs – they are the focus of this work. Light spills from above and reflects off the skin on the top of their shoulders, forearms and hands, knees and legs. The man on the left is slightly angled towards the other man, his head turns further to the right of the painting, his body leaning slightly forward, hands resting on his crossed shins. The man seated on the right has his left knee slightly behind the other man. His centre of gravity is also forward as his arms are poised, palms together around the upright firestick, its lower point primed on a horizontal piece of wood in front of his crossed legs. A shaft of light catches the end of his nose and his fingers tips which seem to move rapidly, so that we imagine the firestick twirling. The light continues to pick up the edge of the stick and its resting place as it meets the horizontal.
The details of the men’s faces are hidden within the shadows; they remain protected, private, although we can ascertain that their hair is short and tightly curled. The profile of the man on the left also disappears in the shadows – light reflects off a piercing through his lobe. The men are pictured in a quiet moment of concentration, all their focus on the act of creating fire. The focus is on their hands and the activity with which they are engaged, the mastery of the firestick. The comfort and ease of the men are evident through the posture of the bodies.
The background is close, maybe a metre or two away from us. The intricate leaf structures describe a background of lush vegetation including pandanis, ferns and creepers. In this forest setting, the earth in the foreground is also covered with a layer of foliage, sticks and fallen leaves. Dappled light from above falls onto the figures and the forest floor as though filtering through a canopy of trees.
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