Despite the fact that David Woolfall makes a living mainly from his commissioned portraiture works, which are regularly seen in leading newspapers and glossy magazines, its his urban landscapes that I find the most captivating. Almost always devoid of human presence, each of these scenes has the potential to tell a story about what has happened and anticipates what will happen next, and it’s up to our imagination to decide how complex we want that story to be. As many creative eyes do, David notices those moments that most may not. Three of the new works for example are of walls, one with the word ‘Love’ affectionately scrawled across it in graffiti, the other two slightly covered with creeping foliage, naturally creating a display that could easily be a painting hanging in a gallery; he sees these scenarios and clicks away, cherishing the moment forever and turning it into art.
My favourite of this collection of new pieces is
Bathroom, Nong Khai. A beautiful pre-loved mirror with stencil detail that’s seen better days hangs slightly on one side from an old piece of string hooked over a rusty nail which is attached to a piece of wood that, although slightly fragile-looking, appears to be a supporting component to somebody’s home. Underneath the mirror sit eight toothbrushes of varying colours and sizes, all poked into gaps in the corrugated iron wall facing upwards and outwards to dry. Two larger ones sit at the top, one pink, one green, with a smaller pink one also on this level, and then other smaller, more childlike (Spiderman!) brushes sit on the line below, like a family of toothbrushes with the parents at the top with perhaps the eldest slightly taller child, and the smaller siblings below.
Of course I’m not drawn to this piece because it’s about a toothbrush family, but by the way this sole image can encourage one’s imagination to run away with us; I’m personally fascinated by people and how others live their lives and I think this is why this image in particular stands out. It’s unclear as to whether the scene is inside or outside; you’d guess if you saw it alone that it was someone’s bathroom inside their home, but small details suggest otherwise, and also the light is so bright that it seems outdoors. If I had to hazard a guess it would be that this is outside and is some sort of communal washing area. I was later told by David however that it was in fact an inside bathroom of a family-run café (but obviously their family space as well as a public one for diners).
Other pieces have a similar affect. In
Barbers, Nong Khai a fresh towel drapes over an old barber’s chair and the door is open, suggesting recent life in the room. The mismatch floor tiles tell us something about how the room was constructed and if you look closely in the shadows you can see how basic it is here with just the essentials to hand. In
Chair, Nong Khai, a single pink chair sits alone in a stream of sunlight coming through two buildings. Has someone placed it there to sit in the sunshine or were they sitting in the shade and then left when the sun moved round? If so this is the behaviour of an adult, however the chair appears to be for a child. Who was present at these scenes and where are they now?
It’s this element of intrigue and anticipation in these works that establishes David’s observant eye as such a talented one, which is subsequently, along with the fact that they provide an insight into an unfamiliar part of the world we may want to learn more about, what makes them so appealing.
See all of David’s work
here.