Don’t Look At Me 2020

Jason Limon made 'Don't Look At Me' with what looks like acrylic on board, and the first thing that grabs me is its playful balance between decay and design. The surface has this incredible mottled texture, like distressed cardboard, which he seems to have achieved with layering and scraping. The colours are muted, almost sepia-toned, giving it an aged, vintage feel, but then you notice the way he’s carefully rendered the light reflecting off the lettering and the skeleton inside the skull and it pulls you right back into the present. It's this push and pull between old and new, surface and depth, that keeps me hooked. Look at the way the light seems to emanate from the eye sockets, it is as though it is piercing through the layers of paint. It reminds me a little of Wayne Thiebaud, who also had a thing for rendering light and shadow in unexpected ways. It’s like Limon is saying something about how we're all just skeletons hiding in boxes, desperate for a bit of attention.