See Copeland Park artist Dirk Larsen’s latest work on show at Rabbet Gallery.

Private view opening 5th March, from 5pm to 8pm wit a short talk from Larsen at 6pm.

Artist statement:

I was sitting having a coffee at SOCIAL in Copeland Park when barman/artist Alex Elson showed me some photos he had taken of a dreadful incident that had taken place in Liverpool the week before. On 26 May 2025, a man called Paul Doyle had, seemingly deliberately, ploughed into more than 130 people at Liverpool FC’s victory parade.

The images were so compelling that I was prompted to make a piece of work that might reflect what I had garnered from Alex’s photos. And so I produced my first ‘reflected portrait’ piece. I had been using mirrors in my work for a while before this, as it seemed to me that their use enabled the viewer to consider some quantum elements of perception, that the traditional direct viewing of an image did not allow for. No longer do we just look “at” an image. We also look “around” toward an image, using our peripheral vision. Being forced into this somewhat compromised way of viewing, can liberate some new perceptions.

The idea of painting a closely connected group of people came to me in a dream. However, I did not know who I was going to portray. Then a fellow Copeland artist, Caroline Gray, suggested I paint the staff who worked at SOCIAL itself. I presented manager Maxine Nixson with a copy of a book I had made called ‘The Juice Shack Stars’ – featuring those who had run the Juice Shack in Ali’s alleyway a few years before. Maxine agreed, and with her influence, the project commenced.

I would like to thank each individual – each of my nine ‘guinea pigs’ – for having so willingly, and enthusiastically, taken part. Namely: Dexter Dooley, Amy Dugan, Xach Hill, Maxine Nixson, George Sharville, Oscar Plant, Sassafras Thomas, Alexander Elson and Abigail Burrell.

When I was close to finishing the portraits, I realised that each piece would need a protective case. Crates are not cheap, and I was keenly aware of this; I had recently sent work to Amsterdam’s Kunst Rai in for a one-man show. Searching around for a packing solution, I realised that the portraits fitted very neatly into small, standard suitcases. Labelling the cases became a thing in its own right, and each case turned into an integral part of the work.

I hope I have created a format which can be repeated for different people, in different places, in a flexible manner. For this reason, the components of each portrait are clipped together, not stuck down. Down the line, this will allow me to re-arrange whose back of head, for example, is linked to whose front of face, and so on.

This is only the third time in my life I have invented an original format to serve the purposes of my vision. The other two were the Reindeer Werk performances, and the Predictions, both with Tom Puckey. I will expand this format over time, as I did with the others. I hope I have created a format which can be repeated for different people, in different places.

Photo credit: Caroline Grey.