Holstein’s unique painting technique involves the pouring of oil and water-based paints on the canvas, which through their interaction create an organically formed, textured background. A digitally composed image is then applied with oil paint over this background of abstract forms. The background, which is only partially painted over, peers through half- dissolved motifs. The images that emerge from this process are fleeting and nebulous in nature; they appear like old photographs that have become partly unrecognisable due to a process of natural decomposition. Holstein’s finely painted figures barely conceal the turbulent drama of paint resisting paint unfolding in the background. The paintings featured in the exhibition include references from a variety of historical epochs; by extracting them from their original photographic context, we become distanced from all of the associations we have with iconic historical photography. Strong colours and harsh contrasts oppose the historical and firmly place it into the here and now.