This painting shows the influence of the artist’s wartime work as a coastguard in Cornwall. The floating shape on the right resembles a radar screen while the white point in the centre suggests a star used as a navigational aid. Tunnard has created a marbling effect by pressing paper onto the wet paint and peeling it off, a technique known as decalcomania. The resulting textured effect suggests the sea. In contrast, stencils have also been used to achieve the more precise outlines of the arches. The painting subverts our understanding of the picture space through the use of arches and planes set at disorientating angles.
John Tunnard (English, 1900 - 1971)
Tunnard studied at the Royal College of Art in London and worked as a textile designer early in his career. On moving to Cornwall in 1930, he devoted increasing amounts of time to painting. During the Second World War Tunnard served as a coastguard and his paintings of this period show a preoccupation with navigational equipment, weather effects and distant horizons. Influenced by the work of Miró, Klee, and British abstract artists, Tunnard developed a distinctive style which contained references to electrical appliances such as radars and radios. An accomplished jazz musician, the lines stretched across his pictures refer both to futuristic electrical equipment and stringed instruments. He participated in several Surrealist exhibitions but never officially joined the group.
