The Lone Stranger brought to us by Christopher Blackstock looks to have a touch of sunstroke. Either that or he’s eaten the wrong kind of cactus. Either way he’s out in the sun of the Californian desert, having a trippy time of things as his journey unfolds in a series of artworks on show at Loakal Gallery in Blackstock’s home city of Oakland. But what is our stranger doing out there all alone? The artist describes his protagonist as a loner, a down-and-out who has fallen on hard times and who is seeking answers, and maybe some sort of redemption, through a spiritual quest.
The desert in which he finds himself is not all it seems, as it represents a post-apocalyptic environment which has been ravaged by the all-consuming demands of the modern world. Blackstock, who works in painting, sculpture and illustration, has been in experimental mood for this series. The scenes are rendered as digital drawings, and are then turned into laser-cut panels which are placed onto canvas and hand-painted with acrylic and spray-paint. The Lone Stranger runs from 4 July to 30 July.
