Introduction -
Mike Portley - Terra Australis Incognita

Mike Portley
Terra Australis Incognita

In, Terra Australis Incognita, Mike Portley presents a series of painted tableaux where the backdrop of the Australian natural order is compromised by synthetic interlopers. The Latin title translates as “the unknown southern land” and in this setting, Portley describes the natural order being supplanted by a new technological overlay. The synthetic beings become disturbing and unnecessary intrusive players in the landscape. The process of evolution, extinction and survival is juxtaposed by this almost comical insertion of technological protagonists. The technological imposters intrude on species that have survived for hundreds of thousands of years; being iterations descended from ancestral pre-historic animals and mega fauna. Portley insinuates that nature should probably be left alone; and that it very capable of survival and renewal when left to its own devices. The folly of humanity is referenced in human beings represented as either extinct former inhabitants or overbearing meddlers. Overall, the exhibition is a metaphor for a future where nature moves on past humanity’s missteps, looking on indifferently at the novel creations left behind. Ultimately, the potential dystopic alarmism hinted in the works is offset by an optimism that nature will always triumph over human hubris.

Portley’s approach to oil painting often involves building up atmosphere and lighting environments where the paint is applied thinly in order to control the diffusion of light. There is emphasis on some areas in the picture plane rendered in intricate painterly detail which is contrasted by more loosely rendered ground. This approach supports Portley’s approach to painting as a construction rather than as a platform of pure illusion. The artworks incorporate aspects of realism and deconstruction in order to present the tableau of the depicted narrative. Portley’s process involves inquiry that is both spontaneous and premeditated. Many of the works stem from narrative starting points and most of his paintings are refined and resolved from literary titles in their inception. Portley’s artworks exist within a narrative structure and that narrative structure is a critical catalyst in each body of work.