Squint (19)

Michael Simpson’s painting Squint (19) appears to be a straightforward image of a stepladder positioned beneath an unreachable aperture, but the more time the viewer spends looking at the picture, the richer its possible readings become. Simpson studied at Bournemouth College of Art and the Royal College of Art in London. At the RCA he was a contemporary of early Pop artists, including Patrick Caulfield, David Hockney and Ron Kitaj. He has worked as an influential teacher throughout his career as an artist. In his own work he has pursued representational painting, with themes including politics and the dangers of organised religion. ‘Squint’ in the title of this work refers to the ‘leper’s squint’ in medieval churches. This opening in a wall allowed people excluded from the service to see the priest elevating the bread and wine at the moment of consecration. The inclusion of this reference in the title, and its depiction as a hatch-like shape in the corner of the canvas, suggest themes of exclusion, an unreachable paradise, the iniquities of privilege, and the critical role of looking in relation to a painted canvas. What is true in art (and religion) and what is a lie? Squint (19) is the 19th in Simpson’s series of paintings exploring this theme. The picture was the first-prize winner in the John Moores Painting Prize 2016 and is the 25th winner of the prize to enter the Walker Art Gallery’s collection.