Oil on birch plywood

12.5 x 12.5 cm

Framed

The structures Orpin focuses on, often constructed from concrete and metal are familiar landmarks that straddle well-travelled motorways and roads. The motorway bridge, often unchanged and built to last, offer sturdiness and a consistent presence that spans decades in frequently developed and changing environments. Cars and people are absent from the paintings, shifting the focus to the transport infrastructure, landscape and positioning the viewer as the driver. The subject matter acts metaphorically to emphasise the significance of travel and connection in our lives. The audience are invited to project their memories, journeys and aspirations onto the environments depicted, to reflect on roads as transformative connectors, symbolising opportunities for change and reflection. The paintings also operate as paeans to the aesthetics of both the brutalist design of motorway bridges along with their surrounding landscape and how to render these unexpected attractions in paint.