In this exhibition of paintings held in January 2008, Tom Gibbons used different art deco type-faces to evoke the milieu of Perth's ubiquitous suburban lunch bars.
He says of his work:
"I've been working with local suburban images for a long time now, from the former Bex Factory in Leederville to the back lanes of Subiaco. Although these quirky neo-Deco paintings aren't pictorial, I hope they will indirectly evoke in the minds of receptive viewers my deep feelings of humorous affection for everyday life in WA, whose friendly camaraderie and brilliant light have been recurring themes in my work. Perhaps this is a reaction from the disparagement of every-day life which was implicit in 20th Century abstraction?"
Dr. Tom Gibbons, formerly Senior Lecturer in English at the University of WA and currently Adjunct Professor in the School of Art at Curtin University of Technology, not only has an international reputation as a scholar working in the field of Early Modernism, but was also a pioneer of Pop Art in Australia. He has participated in numerous group exhibitions from the Festival of Perth in 1967 to the Fremantle Arts Centre 'Love Your Work" of 2002, and held 13 solo exhibitions in Western Australia over the last 50 years. His commissions include 22 large film star portraits, several of which were for many years on permanent display in Cinema City , and prints and paintings for Bentley Hospital and the May Holman Centre.
