Sorcha Dallas

Alan Michael’s paintings decorate Hotel’s exhibition space and although the work is easily overwhelmed, the experience is sweetly gratifying. Ironically, Michael’s paintings are about overstimulation; he mashes together disparate references and influences with varied success. When the images gel, they are an intriguing potpourri of pirated sources; unfortunately, though he often relies on poor technique and choppy composition to elucidate esoteric references. Appropriation only works when the allusions are recognisable and the methods convincing; yet despite these weaknesses, Michael’s paintings have compelling, even haunting moments of visual and narrative allure.

Four paintings attempt a critique of Lynne Ramsay’s cliché-laden film Morvern Callar. Inspiration from the film merges with characters taken from street photographs, Michael Heath’s cartoons for the Spectator and Andrew Wyeth’s portraits of his mistress, Helga. In the handsome canvas Nightclub in Spain, Helga’s face is repeated three times in diminishing scale. Set against a moody grey background, her solid features, blonde bob and black turtleneck top create a dramatic and melancholy portrait – as if Wyeth’s peasant muse were reincarnated as a suburban wife contemplating a future of limiting options. Containing an overt layering of references tied together with dynamic narrative possibilities, Party reflects Michael’s ability to match Hotel’s warm, intimate and dynamic atmosphere.