Wichman has always been interested in the idea of the social outsider. Gays, cross-dressers, criminals, the insane or physically deformed, and above all the artist, populate his work. The title of this exhibition, Familial, reflects the human condition of the individual (or by extension the family unit) against the world. While a couple of the paintings include figures whose expressions and body language hint at the anguished isolation of the insane, others suggest mafia mobsters, braced (and armed) for ruthless action. Naked figures await execution. But Wichman enjoys ambiguity. Many of the ‘mob’ themselves are semi-naked. A fine line divides vulnerability and brute male strength. In Quarry we see another ambiguity. A human couple and a pair of snakes copulate – or do they fight?

Wichman is interested in the way in which violence is justified in the minds of its perpetrators. The Christ Child in Majesty hovers above a fraternity of soldiers. The prize of money, too, relaxes moral codes. Wichman returns in several of the pictures to one of his favourite themes: the world of the circus, the acrobat, the juggler. Like Picasso’s sad saltimbanques, these figures – and the runner in Storm – are manipulated by others for profit.

Artists themselves are misunderstood or exploited in a world where painting is just another commodity – or so the small picture called Art seems to say.

- Don Bassett