With the passage of time, some things move dramatically and others hardly alter. It takes us a while, but sooner or later, after a few decades, we come to understand that nothing lasts forever. Time is something that everyone thinks they understand, but in reality, it’s remarkably ambiguous and elusive. Keep one eye on the times and one eye on the timeless is a collection of works which reflects our times – the chaos and the calm in contemporary life. Following an inner urge to find my own expression I’m always striving for an unconventional approach to colour, rhythm, balance and mark-making. In this series I focus on making art which is ambiguous and elusive in order to represent time, and thus the search for reduction and a muted palette has become an essential part of my artistic practice. Time can be both a strict teacher and an apt healer. Along with the progress of the digital age comes a diverse range of changes in our lives; we need minds that can stay grounded and open to the full range of what it means to be human. My inspiration is drawn from the thought-provoking poem The Paradox of Our Time (author unverified) which is a biting satire on the changes brought by modernization. It’s been a while since it was originated, but its meaning is still relevant as ever. The poem goes – “The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers… We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom and hate too often. We’ve learnt how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years… It is a time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to make a difference… or just hit delete”¹ Junko Go Image courtesy the artist and Gallery Smith