Abstract

James Hutchinson’s ‘O B 1’ short for ‘Orange Bag 1’ is a video of a cheap orange plastic bag that was caught in the apple tree in Hutchinson’s back garden for about six weeks. Part of an extensive and ongoing series of photographs and videos that document found situations in his daily environment; Hutchinson focuses on the abject detritus and remains of contemporary consumer culture. Pared down to three elements: the knarled and silhouetted branches of the apple tree, the vivid orange of the plastic, and the lapis blue background of the sky; this work oscillates between a playful toying with cinematic cliché - nodding towards both ‘American Beauty’ and ‘Star Wars’ - and with the notion of painting as video and video as painting.