Room one
Youth, Age & The In Between
Here, social issues are examined. Like much of Pete’s previous work, these paintings mostly feature people. Even those devoid of human figures tell stories about human experience. Poverty, old age and youth are examined directly.
In the artist’s past works images of both children and older adults are metaphors for lived experiences and emotions. For example, children represent the joyful exuberance of youth. Youngsters are carefree and often depicted at play, while older characters represent emotional warmth and tradition. By contrast, in DAYM, joy and comfort have largely been stripped away, replaced with scenes examining life’s harsh realities.
These pieces break new ground for Pete. Although he has previously touched upon the ideas explored here, in DAYM they come to the fore. Despite the contemporary themes that inspired this show some of the pieces reflect on the past to consider the present.
The Outsider (2020)
Emulsion on board
76cm x 127cm
Artist’s Note
Waiting for the 3:30 to come home is a long shot from today’s glamorous ads showing mates laughing, sat in the pub placing celebrity endorsed bets on their phones. No need to hide behind frosted glass under the cloak of secrecy. It’s just a bit of fun...until it’s not.
Curatorial Note
To date, this is the second self-portrait the artist has exhibited. Here, a young Pete waits outside a bookies whilst his dad places a bet on the horses. The artist created this painting after reflecting on how today’s betting industry glamourises gambling. Until recently, these TV and online adverts often employed celebrities to endorse their products.
“Although making your child wait outside a betting shop while you go in exposes them to gambling on some level, in many ways today’s betting culture is much more damaging [...] it seems to pervade our lives in a far more insidious way.”
Just Five Minutes (2021)
Emulsion on board
38.5cm x 51cm
Artist’s Note
Nipping in for a nosey while the nipper naps.
Curatorial Note
Like The Outsider, this work documents a memory of something unlikely to occur today:
“Where I grew up children were regularly left out in the street in the 1970s as many prams were either too big to fit through shop doors or weren’t allowed in. Things have changed drastically. The idea of leaving a small child alone on the street would be horrifying. I think it’s ironic that at one point, not that long ago, such sights were commonplace, whereas now people with babies are, fortunately, catered for very differently.
For example, in some cafes you can barely move for the number of prams. Even babyccinos have been invented so as to include the little ones. I think because the image is so shocking it’s almost comical. It wasn’t the case that people didn’t care, it was just how things were done.”
Self Catering (2020)
Emulsion on board
61cm x 61cm
Artist’s Note
There’s no shortage of love, just a shortage of childhood.
Curatorial Note
After reading about the large number of young carers in the UK, amounting to over 800,000, Pete created this painting. It is neither judgement nor condemnation of the households that find themselves in this situation but simply aims to illustrate the difficult reality of those who find they have little choice.
The unicorn on the child’s bag, and the colourful cereal packet, suggest the carefree and childlike world into which she would like to escape. In the background is the reality of her situation. The chaotic clutter stands between her and the window, further alluding to how such responsibilities separate and isolate this little girl from the rest of the world.
Happy Jack (2021)
Emulsion on board
45.5cm x 66cm
Artist’s Note
He’s there for advice just don’t ask him for any.
Curatorial Note
This disgruntled employee has taken on a new job because his state pension is not enough to live on. The apron echoes those worn in B&Q, a company known for employing older people. Pete describes the background as “Rembrandt brown”, referencing the Dutch artist’s famous self-portraits by creating a similar backdrop. Rembrandt painted self-portraits up until the age of sixty-three, depicting himself in a dignified manner, meeting the viewer’s gaze. “Jack” also looks directly at the viewer, yet the sentiment differs as he cannot hide his dissatisfaction. His stiff pose for this portrait references the mandatory staff photographs taken in large companies.
“Of course there are plenty of people out there who want to continue working after the retirement age, even if they don’t have to. However, some don’t have a choice either way because they will never be able to save enough to enable themselves to fully retire when they get their pension.”
No Place Like Home (2019)
Emulsion on board
60cm x 60cm
Artist’s Note
They give you three hot meals a day, make sure your clothes are clean and tell you it’s best if you get out of bed and sit in your chair. The view outside is nice, you can see some trees and occasionally you can hear the birds sing but it’s no place like home.
Curatorial Note
Addressing issues of ageing in today’s society, this work represents what many of us fear: isolation and loss of autonomy. It reminds us that care homes are a fixture of British life and how, despite the best efforts of those working in this stretched sector, living in residential care can, in some cases, lead to loneliness.
By painting this character in a nightie and dressing gown, their vulnerability is emphasised. The sock that has slipped down to expose her frail leg goes unnoticed as she looks out of the window whilst fidgeting her hands. The red slippers reference the Wizard of Oz’s heroine, Dorothy, and her ruby red slippers. Her famous line is the inspiration for the title of this work.
Gilded Lily (2021)
Emulsion on board
65cm x 65cm
Artist’s Note
“Non, je ne regrette rein.”
Curatorial Note
The way the artist has painted older people in DAYM is a departure for him. A figure he regularly revisits is the archetypal grandmother, “the matriarch of the house”. He has described her as symbolising empathy, offering a “great warmth”, providing comfort and evoking loving memories.
Gilded Lily playfully subverts this familiar character by imagining how older people might look in the future, based on today’s styles and forms of expression. Here a millennial or someone from the Generation Z era, proudly displays their body art, their ears stretched by the plugs they once wore. The matriarchs Pete regularly paints are the ones he remembers growing up; the woman here offers us a glimpse into the future.
The Porridge Eaters (2022)
Emulsion on board
76cm x 127cm
Artist’s Note
Welfail of the state.
Curatorial Note
This work’s title and composition reference Vincent van Gogh’s 1885 painting, The Potato Eaters, picturing an impoverished family around a table. In contrast to Pete’s previous images of working-class families, this sombre painting lacks any humour, cosiness or sense of contentment. The title also references a 2017 Twitter thread, in which:
“...journalist Isabel Oakeshott managed, in the space of just a few characters, to dismiss people living in poverty, effectively telling them to eat gruel. I have never forgotten those contemptuous, cruel and out-of-touch comments and have always wanted to explore them in one of my pieces.
Having bills pile up that you can’t pay and living in rundown accommodation is something I have experienced. Reliance on income support and working tax credit was a reality for me. I consider myself fortunate that me and my family are now in different circumstances. But the family in my painting could be any of us.”
The Absent Drinker (2020)
Emulsion on board
60cm x 74.7cm
Artist’s Note
The jukebox remains silent, no longer needed to provide the soundtrack to idle chatter.
The lights on the beer pumps glow but no one is there to see them let alone taste their liquid delights.
Every now and then the one-armed bandit sings out like a caged songbird, calling to a mate who will never visit.
On the wall a poster advertises a special night of entertainment and fun, like a map to the mythical paradise of Shangri-la.
The landlord sits at the end of the bar leant over today’s newspaper, improving his crossword skills.
6 down, (6,7) “Death knell of the local”
A_S_NT D_I_KER
Curatorial Note
Pubs in Pete’s work usually tell stories of those enjoying a quiet moment or of lively family get-togethers. Here, no such thing happens. This painting is a reaction to the decline in UK pubs over the last twenty years. The dying plant in the corner symbolises the dwindling clientele. Pete’s empty boozer, designed to serve the estate seen in the distance, is an example of the types of pubs that have been disappearing.
The painting’s perspective emphasises the fate of this pub. The path to the tower blocks is steep and narrow, making the blocks’ inhabitants seem far away. The Absent Drinker is a play on Édouard Manet’s 1859 painting The Absinthe Drinker in which an inebriated man sits alone on a wall at night. Although Pete’s work explores a different aspect of drinking culture, the scenes in both paintings tell bleak and dismal stories.
Staycation (2022)
Emulsion on board
45.5cm x 66cm
Artist’s Note
In my day we didn’t need a global pandemic to holiday at home.
Curatorial Note
Although the term “staycation” predates the pandemic, it was used more than ever during lockdown. The artist created this piece while reflecting on how holidaying at home is now marketed.
Set in the 1970s, a couple wait for a coach early in the morning. Pete went on these low budget holidays throughout his childhood, specifically staying at caravan sites “...because they were cheap and cheerful.”
“The idea of working-class people going abroad for their holidays back then was fantastical. [...] Camping was probably the most basic level, then it’d be caravans, B&Bs, and finally, the absolute pinnacle of indulgence: a seafront hotel with full bed and board. A staycation for us just meant a holiday. I find it so funny how staycation trips have been marketed to mean something completely different. Nowadays you’re slumming it if you haven’t got a Jacuzzi and a gastro pub around the corner.”
There’s Always One (2022)
Emulsion on board
61cm x 86.5cm
Artist’s Note
They were the first on the street to holiday in Benidorm. There’s a bull fighting poster in the kitchen, Bill’s name printed in bold as the matador. Mavis has a framed photo of herself wearing a sombrero whilst drinking from a wine porrón.
Curatorial Note
The central house represents one of the first council houses to be bought by its owners after the Right to Buy scheme was introduced in 1980 under Margaret Thatcher’s government. This scheme gave tenants the option of purchasing their home at a substantially discounted price. Although being able to buy one’s house is a cause for celebration, these council houses were never properly replaced. The house’s embellishments, including the Velux window, suggest that its occupants own rather than rent.
“You don’t need to know why or how the people in this house have been able to afford their place. They could have worked their way up in their jobs and earned a higher salary than most. Someone could have had a payout from a coal mining injury. Maybe they are brilliant at saving. The main thing I wanted to symbolise was what upward mobility looks like in this context and also what it looks like when people want to show they’ve moved up a gear.”