Noonan’s work is known for bringing together a mixture of selected, manipulated and constructed imagery sourced from films and for expressing himself through collage, printmaking, sculpture and installations to create powerful scenes that suggest surreal natives and elements of the 20th-century avant-garde and subcultural histories. Next to his meticulous research process, expressed outlines and legitimate considerations are also important to Noonan’s mesmerising work. Themes within his process are often strategically reclusive and otherworldly, even when they appear in groups. The results emerge as deeply psychological and experimental.
In comparison with his early so-called DIY collage works, Tapestries goes in the opposite direction. The artworks from this collection evolved in more fluid image reproductions combined with rough-cut collaging, where he makes use of a sophisticated language to contract with surprisingly layered, hand-cut designs. With Tapestries, Noonan expands his interest in combining figuration with abstraction, using traditional hand-cut paper collages to outline symbolic figures on abstract backgrounds. Both these figurative and abstract images are from widely researched sources within several periods in time but have been put together so well that it feels like one united piece. Also, the sources he’s used for the exhibition are not revealed but rather decontextualised to allow the captivating narratives of the showcased work to form in the present.