Painting | Level 2

Boyd & Evans

Boyd & Evans believe that the life of a painting depends on what the viewer brings to it and believe that words 'damage' paintings.

They use photography as sketchbooks. Their images are composite, reformed from photographs, pictures or situations they have observed and documented, designed to both tell a story but to lead the viewer to create their own narrative.

People are painted into their pictures as ‘witnesses’, to encourage the viewer to invent their own story around the featured landscape. Landscapes often show the mark that man has left, be they urban or rural, intimate or large scale.

However, we know that 'Long Strand' is inspired by and rooted in Southern Ireland, where Boyd & Evans have been frequent visitors. “Strand” is an Irish name for beach and the 'Long Strand' of the title is in West Cork, near Rosscarbery. The two men there witnessing the scene were from a photograph taken at a horse fair at another West Cork village.

“We rejoice in the things we find. We manipulate the image, but not the facts.”

Question: What do you think the story behind this painting is?

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Fionnuala Boyd and Les Evans (Boyd & Evans) have been working collaboratively since 1968. One of their most well-known pieces in Milton Keynes is Fiction, Non-fiction and Reference in the Central Library.  It is based on a grid structure, inspired by the town’s original design.

The artists have been long term supporters and actively involved in the hospital art collection and arts programme - you can find many other artworks kindly on loan throughout the hospital. Their large scale photographic work Inside Out (2017) welcomes you to the main entrance of the Hospital.

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