Pool

Felim Egan maps the unreal. A student at Belfast and Portsmouth, and later the Slade School of Art (London), Egan took the time to develop an intimate vocabulary with a universal appeal and potential. Intangible, a vaporous quality of his monochromatic work and background is the result of his technique, which consists of building up colour by applying layer after layer of thin acrylic mixed with powdered stone. No words properly describe the abstract compositions of the Irish painter, but ‘maps’ tend to come to mind when assessing his work. As to what is being mapped out by Agen hieroglyphic coordinates, who knows? Constellations, yet undiscovered micro-civilisation? His geometric vernacular leaves space for one’s imagination to come up with an infinite number of answers and theories. Pool, from its water-implying title and elongated shapes, could be linked with an aerial view of a boat race, the exit of a populated harbour or, simply, a lane-less swimming pool.