Half Awake

‘On first glance, you may think that Joe O’Rourke and Parham Ghalamdar are very different painters. However, this exhibition, the first time their work is presented together, demonstrates the strong parallels between them. After all, both artists offer portals into artificial worlds, present alternate realities, and paint as a societal critique. Their paintings are proxy stage sets, uncanny representations rooted in the complexities of life (...) Themes include a questioning of humankind, the role of the body, a sense of individuality verses collective, an ever-present vein of dark humour, mismatched imagery, and absurdity, but I notice one of the overarching focusses of their work is surveillance’. 

 - excerpt from ‘There Are No Choices Without Chances’, an exhibition text written by Matt Retallick on the occasion of Half Awake.