Richard Wotton’s sharp eye keenly activates liminal spaces such as the banal smoko room. This crisply black and white image has a bracingly ephemeral and melancholy atmosphere. It depicts a mundane but beautifully compelling mise-en-scene of a Zip hot water cylinder, enamel teapot, a glossy Penthouse magazine strewn on a chair and nude pin-ups tacked on grubby walls. The calendar with a PG Tips style monkey pouring a cup of tea is a darkly absurd touch. You can just imagine the kind of off-the-shop-floor smoko banter that might have taken place in this room over a strong brew and a few vanilla wine biscuits.
-Kiran Dass, writer and critic, for the May 2021 instalment of the My Choice exhibition series.