For his new exhibition, ‘Tropical Future World’, Nigel Sense invokes the instincts and emotions experienced during his overseas trip to South-East Asia, immediately prior to Covid-19. Each painting transforms the familiar into something unfamiliar, and, via the application of distortion, dislocation and juxtaposition, the artist constructs an alternative universe, along with a visual interpretation of the senses engaged during direct experience. “I see my works as a social commentary and exploration of the human condition. ‘Tropical Future World’ is the first show I’ve painted that starts from instinct and emotion, and puts the figurative composition second. The works represent visual over-stimulation experienced when travelling. The shapes and lines are taken from snapshots of the day, from the lettering on a street sign in Bangkok, to the patterns on tiles of an old Chinese shop-house in Panang.I had originally planned to paint this show in Cambodia, but my plans, like everyone else’s in 2020 were tipped on its head due to Covid-19. One week I was in Laos and the next found myself painting out of my in-laws house in the northern suburbs of Wollongong. It seemed ironic that my works were to be all about travelling when I found myself forced to remain in isolation in Australia. This body of work is an emotional response to the contradiction that comes from a nomadic approach to life and painting. It captures the simultaneous moments of opposing emotions all rolled up with psychedelic colours and erratic lines. I see the works not just representing subject matter but a visual record of a deeper emotional experience” – Nigel Sense, 2020.Nigel Sense was born in Wollongong, NSW. He achieved a Bachelor of Creative Arts from the University of  Wollongong in 2006. His work was been selected for numerous awards, including the Kilgour Prize (NSW), Salon des Refuses (S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney), Mosman Art Prize (Sydney) and the King’s School Art Prize (Sydney). ‘Tropical Future World’ is the artist’s second solo exhibition at Wagner Contemporary. VIEW WORKS ON PAPER