Michael McHugh - The Accidental Garden

Michael McHugh’s paintings reflect an instantly familiar vision of pacific forms and nature’s exuberance, as well as a highly personal perception of subject matter. The paintings in McHugh’s new series: The Accidental Garden are distinguished by their playfulness, obsessive detail and lush imagery; with every inch of these expansive compositions vital and alive.

The only constant in life is change. We typically regard gardens as personal dominions, where we can create the sort of idealised private retreats we desire. These constructed spaces however are subject to unstable conditions, shifting seasons and pests with their own aims for these spaces. This conflict between nurture and nature, between intention and happenstance are the heart of McHugh’s new series, and a microcosm of human history.

In March of this year, the artist experienced one of lifes high moments, becoming a grandfather for the very first time. Two days later however, he was involved in a serious traffic accident which led to a broken shoulder, surgery and an immediate change of circumstance and mobility. As a result, McHugh leased out his city studio and spent time at home recuperating. A temporary studio was created in his front room, with a view out over his neighbour’s garden – in stark contrast to the urban view from his old studio in the city.

In a spirit of flux, this new series of paintings - brought about in an unexpected way - are very much about chance encounters and the joy of accidental discovery. McHugh’s new environment, and space to contemplate, allowed him room to rehabilitate and experiment. After weeks of simply observing he eventually started drawing again, absorbing the quiet ebbs and flows of his new outlook. From here, the artist gradually started to create this new body of work.

His process involved collage-based colour and texture studies, breaking images apart and reforming them. In this sense his visual language is less about botanical descriptions of plant life and more about creating the sensory experience of potential worlds, pushing at the boundary between the familiar and the un-familiar. Using the logic of collage and his instinct to build relationships from unrelated forms, McHugh presents the viewer with a highly constructed world, pieced together from fragments and reflection.

The artist has produced a potential universe rather than directly reflecting our own flora, allowing his imagination licence over his carefully reached botanical drawings. He offers a new world where structures flow and grow through the paintings, creating vibrant textures and patterns which overwhelm the scenes. As such the viewer is confronted with a complete loss of identity as they are absorbed into these accidental worlds.

McHugh’s imagery is often encrypted with personal significance, corresponding to a memories and moments from his own life. We might for example not know the significance of Dad’s Orchid (we presume a homage to his father) or that Street Appeal makes reference to a recent encounter with Japanese Kimono. While these details are not necessarily available to us the viewer, they reflect an intimate state that resonates on an emotional level. Spending time with the paintings this sensation increases, as mysterious and hidden details emerge through overlapping forms and swathes of colour. Previous bodies of work have suggested lush habitats, even marine landscapes but the recent inclusion of human or figurative elements - such as the suspended legs of Rush Hour and the anthropomorphic forms of Playground and Green Way, suggest a more expansive environment.

Alive and against a background of disorder we see McHugh’s 'accidental gardens’ reorganise themselves, inviting us to get lost in these paradisiacal worlds.