Orpin creates beautiful paintings of motorway bridges that mark well-travelled roads across the UK. She captures the essence of everyday topographies, choosing the framed view from the car to encapsulate memories and feelings of nostalgia. The composition of what she calls her “standard, straight-on landscapes” often feature a vertiginous perspective, where a solitary bridge soars into the sky, cutting through the air with surgical precision, as the eye travels along the road under and beyond its physical boundaries.
The paintings embrace complementary notions of time: viewers are suspended between the impulse to dash at motorway speed and the pull of deceleration, emanating from the sturdy structures that dominate the scene. Concrete and metal give these brutalist landmarks, marked with graffiti and occasional weeds, the enduring quality of a monument. Each bridge acts as a focal point, confronting us with its imposing presence and forcing us to re-enact all the memories and emotions that we associated with its sight on our routes to the people and places that mean the most to us.
Exhibition
A navigation of memory
Jen Orpin
April 12, 2024 - May 11, 2024
Opening: Friday April 12th at 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Jarilager Gallery
12, Eonju-ro 165-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
서울 강남구 언주로 165길 12
+82-10-8191-5834
Wednesday to Saturday: 13:00 – 18:00 PM
Sunday to Monday: by appointment only
Jen Orpin
April 12, 2024 - May 11, 2024
Opening: Friday April 12th at 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Jarilager Gallery
12, Eonju-ro 165-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
서울 강남구 언주로 165길 12
+82-10-8191-5834
Wednesday to Saturday: 13:00 – 18:00 PM
Sunday to Monday: by appointment only
