Nick Archer is intrigued with the Victorian preoccupation with idealism, fantasy fairytale and myth, in the work of such painters as Richard Dadd and the Pre Raphaelite brotherhood. He incorporates their aesthetics of romanticism into the compositional process, with the contemporary kick of the kitsch to create a rich visual vocabulary that intoxicates the senses with decorative, glittery expanses. These jewel-like qualities are also inspired by such contemporary artists as Fred Tomaselli and Turner Prize winner Chris Ofili. Clearly such beautiful paintings are able to seduce the onlooker, yet in the case of these two artists, simultaneously threaten to repel through often macabre and disturbing imagery. Archer however takes you on a journey into the wondrous and seemingly random meanderings of a child's mind, yet through the painting process he is able to disrupt notions of what is real or make-believe.
The 1917 photographs of the 'Cottingley Fairies', a source of inspiration, deceived the public through trick photography into believing the unbelievable, and in much the same way Archer can manipulate our own perceptions of reality and create visual uncertainties. In the paintings, the photography, collage and painted surfaces are woven tightly together through the composition and often become indistinguishable, characters and landscape could be either fictional or real, you are never quite sure what you are looking at. So are we experiencing the artist's world of visual metaphor or a child's playful imagination and belief in fairy-tale? In today's world, searching for answers, this is a dream we could readily escape to.
His new work is particularly characterised by experimentation with new materials. As the critic Abrams writes, these
'add new layers of complexity to his recurrent themes of childhood fantasies and rural idylls. The paint, now mixed with resin, has a mind of its own. "€śColour bleeds into other colours in a random and accidental way which I have no control over," says Archer. Deep purples and vibrant reds seep across the surface, creating a sense of mystery and foreboding which destabalises the idealised images and perhaps our own perceptions of childhood.'
Melanie Abrams, Galleries Magazine, June 2009