Like Father Like Son

'Like Father Like Son' is a collaborative work painted by Gary Hume and his son Joseph for an exhibition entitled 'Eye was a Child'. Seductive as a result of the naive aspect of the childlike painting, the sweet, candy-like colours and the glossy texture of the household paint, this work invariably recalls childhood memories. The image is warmly reminiscent of kindergarten paintings of children's hands as a first investigation into personal identity. The colourful and playful painting is thus, in many ways, a self-portrait of the artist and his son, while at the same time reflecting on the aura that surrounds the creative genius, expressed and symbolised throughout art history by the hand of the artist. The motif of the hands reoccurs in Hume's enormous painting 'my Aunt and I Agree' (1995), where also here the hands overlay each other. In all of his works, Gary Hume fluctuates between figuration and abstraction. Items from everyday life and popular culture - from hospital doors and shamrocks to handprints and silhouette portraits - are merely excuses for the artist's desire to revel in the beauty of gloss enamel paint.