McArdle’s work explores the shifting relationship between fine art traditions — the nude, the landscape, sculpture — and the digital image that now dominates visual culture. By relocating digital imagery into the realm of painting and drawing, he examines how meaning and narrative are transformed when images are removed from their original contexts. His paintings disorientate the viewer, prompting reflection on how we consume and interpret visual material in an age of constant image circulation. Ultimately, McArdle invites us to consider how painting, both intimate and collective, can reshape our understanding of the images that surround us.
