Chil Mott
Still Life No. 11, 2019, Oil on board, Courtesy of the Artist.
Visit Chil Mott’s website
Instagram: @ill_news
Hear from the Artist
Transcript
My name is Chil Mott. The two paintings I have in the Newport Biennial are Sill Life number 9 and Sill Life number 11. I am not an entomologist nor scientist of any stripe, but I have always enjoyed visiting museums of natural history and nature labs. One day I discovered that the window sill in my often neglected tool shed had amassed a fine collection of its own. There must have been a dozen or so different varieties of insects of all shapes and colors. Like strangely appointed inhabitants from a world I’ve never been to, but was right in front of me. I decided to take a few photos with a macro lens. Once I looked at the pictures up close I noticed that a spider or something had begun to build traps around some of their legs. A whole other world was forming around the carcass of this wasp with smaller insects building traps and dying untimely deaths. It was like an infinity mirror. I decided to see if I could capture a piece of this world through painting. I’m now 25 paintings into this series and feel as if there is a lot more to be explored within the conjunction of all these amazing insects combined with the vast history of image making and me discovering my way through all of it.
I am basically a portrait painter. If you’d like your portrait painted, just wind up dead on my window sill and I’ll try to fit you in. Thank you for looking.