In these paintings, the making is part of the meaning. Each was built through a process of laying down, covering, scraping back and reworking, and the surface retains a record of that history. Loss, the passage of time and return are therefore things the paintings have undergone as well as things they describe.

‘Leontes’ is about fragility, misrecognition and the beginning of loss. Thin layers of soft, flesh-like colour were wiped or dissolved before they could settle, so that forms were never allowed to fully fix. The dispersed forms suggest a living moment that cannot be securely held or recognised. The painting relates to Leontes' inability to distinguish between what is seen and what is imagined, and to the destructive reality that his suspicion subsequently creates.

Simon Burton (b. 1973, Doncaster, UK) lives and works in London. He attained a BA at the University of Brighton (1992 – 1995) and an MA at the Royal College of Art (1995 – 1997). Burton has exhibited internationally including in Bulgaria, China, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Poland, Romania, S. Korea, USA and the UK. Burton’s paintings are held in many public and private collections in China, Europe, USA and the UK.