The eye moves between the blocks of tightly packed images and the large black gestures that partially cover them, as if several layers of city and memory coexisted on the same surface. John Beckley assembles portraits, fragments of landscapes, skull, architecture, and graphic motifs into a very dense patchwork, punctuated by words in capitals, including the title “MONEY MONKEY” on the right side. Over it all, a network of splattered white lines crosses the composition, connects the areas, and blurs the landmarks, giving the whole an electric rhythm. The contrast between these readable little scenes and the rawer material around them creates a strong tension, both urban and very alive.
