September 2022
Freeez Island
07/09/22 20:54
Here in the far west of Cornwall we are used to stories of mystical islands that appear like magic from beneath the waves. There’s the mythical land of Lyonesse or the lost island of Atlantis, and now to that archipelago of the imaginations we can add Freeez Island, rising from the deep for one week at PZ gallery, Penzance, from 9th – 14th September.King, and so far only inhabitant, of Freeez island, is Jimeee Freeez, where he has become a creative castaway, making good use of the flotsam and jetsam of high and low culture that wash up on his shores? Mickey and Donald, Popes and presidents are all bent into new shapes in the idiosyncratic iconography of Freeez Island. Like the old maps used to say of distant, undiscovered lands, “here be monsters!” And there’s certainly no cultural hierarchy here in this “terra incognita”. No with the support of Daisy Laing Gallery, Penzance, Jimeee invites you to come ashore and explore.
But perhaps we shouldn’t ask “where’ is Freeez Island but rather “what” is Freeez Island and it seems to be as much a state of mind as a place on an imaginary map. “Its existential post appropriationism”, says Jimeee himself and in the next breath, “yeah, basically I do what I want.” And don’t we all dream of having our own private island. Well Jimeee Freeez has made that fantasy a reality. But this Robinson Crusoe hasn’t wasted time just waiting for rescue. He has been perfecting his craft, honing his skills. Ceramics, collage, installation and of course classical portraiture and comic book creations are all part of the visual language of Freeez Island. ”Its all about the painting he says.” And indeed it is. A bold colour palette with strong purples and powerful almost neon yellows and blues hues, together with canvasses of a dramatic scale that almost demand islands of their own, all belie a sensitivity to technique and a brushwork that should resonate far beyond the shores of Freeez Island
Don’t miss the chance to visit, before it disappears into the mist and vanishes beneath the waves.