GILLIAN WEARING

ARTIST

‘This is a very mysterious work. It looks both surreal and formal, and I am interested in how something can hold your attention yet not entirely reveal itself to you. The painting has an unease about it – but in a good way. Frampton was not a prolific painter, and his art is much quieter than that of his contemporaries. This is not a realist portrait but the quality of it – you can hardly see the paint lines – makes it feel hyper-real, drawing you in but keeping you guessing, too. It inspires me in its hypnotic stillness and strangeness, which is something I want to achieve with my own photographs.’