Ces McCully: Safe Space

July 21 - August 11, 2023 at NBB GALLERY

For three weeks, the artist Ces McCully will convert THE BACKROOM in NBB GALLERY into a SAFE SPACE.

In this new series, McCully departs from her usual chance-based palette developed in 2019 when the text works first appeared, to create a looser and more textural body of text work. In her typical conceptual style where text, abstract and figurative pieces are often developed in parallel around a central theme, she continues to explore societal values. However, as the title suggests, McCully allowed herself to incorporate more texture and derive from her previous schema, ultimately creating a safe space for her expression as well.

‘BAD GUYS NEED FRIENDS TOO’ states one of the canvases, leaving room for the viewer’s imagination: Who is the bad guy? What happened to the bad guy? Do only good people deserve friendships? The questions could go on… By using a minimal amount of words, McCully tells an associative flash fiction story that creates an inclusive safe space for everyone; even the bad guys. Imperfection and making mistakes seem to be the connecting elements of the three canvases exhibited in THE BACKROOM. The artist, however, prefers the text be left open to interpretation by the viewer.