Baby Animals Held by Unseen Human Hands

‘It’s A Hard World For Little Things’  2013 – Present
Children Carrying Heavy Objects

‘It’s A Hard World For Little Things’ is a series of large-scale graphite on paper drawings depicting children and what they carry, either physical societal, mental. The drawings exploit the idea of animating on one page with the drawing constantly flickering like a film before the viewers eyes. The subjects in the drawing are cinematic in scale and bigger than the viewer.  I chose to show the positive aspects pf what children carry and why, and to celebrate their ability to survive in spite of sometimes difficult circumstances

The Invisible Woman 2015

An ever expanding series of photographic collages that explore the idea of non-self identity through double portraiture. The works highlight a relationship of perception and projection, using my eyes, always the same eyes, on to the face of a found subject ,whether a woman, man, animal or indeed an inanimate object.  At times the images expose a certain political condition and focuses on restoring the visibility of women and to celebrate their endeavours and heroics.  At other times it is the reflection in the eyes seeks a wider political context, to uphold the identity of groups or causes that need to be supported. The series continues to the highlighting every day heroines, included those exploited and in search of recognition.

The Night Of The Hunter 2012 – Present

These large-scale drawings are inspired by a very short scene from ?The Night Of The Hunter?, the seminal black & white film directed in 1955 by Charles Laughton. This is a story of betrayal by the adult world of two helpless children, who are forced to wander the land begging for food and shelter whilst fleeing from their evil stepfather.

It is a  tale of good and evil that encompasses the beauty of their journey on the great river as they flee from harm, with the fear that lurks within as the world of the night creatures plays out as they sail by. This is illustrated in a sequence where an owl stalks its prey, a young rabbit, we never see the moment of capture, but witness the swoop of the owl and hear the squeal of it’s quarry.

I DRAW DOGS FOR MONEY 2012 – Present

Commissioned portraits of animals, dead or alive.

BAMBI ESSEX-HAIRPIN, The People’s Chihuahua 2011

Bambi Essex Hairpin, was the gallery dog at The Outside World from 2002-11. He was a much celebrated character whose passing was marked by an exhibition of drawings shortly after his death.

Street Photographs from 2006 – Present

A series of photographs that celebrates the overlooked, the unsung and the downright thrown away, of everyday life.

Many of the photographs highlight the ever changing landscape of London’s East End.  

BACK TO BLACK EYED SUSAN 2009 – 2012 acrylic inks on canvas

The BLACK EYED SUSAN – The Complete Series continues a long established way of working by C.A.HALPIN that is based on found words, images and notes.

Don’t Believe Them is the starting point for the complete series of 13 paintings.

BLACK EYED SUSAN ?paintings contain written messages and images, layered over and turned around until the words become abstracted, distorted and almost impossible to read.  During the process the paintings are worked on and rotated until the images have no top or bottom, the viewer being guided only by the forms that emerge as they are painted.

Past Work 1987 – 2010

A selection of works in various media spanning the last two decades

The range is from sculpture, installation, painting and book making always with drawing at the heart of the process.

The Shed, which was set on an inner city roof top was filled with  a shower of deconstructed silk flowers that played with the changing light and the movement of the sun.

The books were from a series of decorated hand drawn books using found objects as their covers.