Jonny Hannah – There Sat Auld Nick in Shape O’ Beast – Original Hand-Painted Plywood Cut-Out – c.2016

Description

A wonderfully distinctive original hand-painted plywood cut-out by Jonny Hannah, entitled There Sat Auld Nick in Shape O’ Beast, dating from circa 2016.

Cut in the form of an open hand and measuring approximately 11 × 19.3 cm, the piece is painted directly onto shaped plywood and combines Hannah’s characteristic interests in folk imagery, vernacular lettering, devilish iconography and hand-made sign painting.

The front is dominated by a fierce orange-red beast-like face set within the palm, with vivid blue eyes, black linear detailing and a gritted white mouth. The five fingers are painted deep blue and individually lettered in pale blue-white, while the wrist carries additional hand-painted wording over a cross-hatched ground in peach, blue and cream.

The title, Three Sat Auld Nick in Shape O’ Beast, immediately places the work within the world of Scottish folk language and supernatural imagery. “Auld Nick” is a traditional Scots name for the Devil, while “in shape o’ beast” evokes the old folkloric idea of the Devil appearing in animal or monstrous form.

That makes the work considerably more than a decorative painted hand. It reads as a small folk talisman or devilish emblem, rendered in Hannah’s deliberately rough, humorous and highly personal visual language.

Folk Tradition and “Auld Nick”

The use of “Auld Nick” gives the piece a strongly Scottish and folkloric character.

In Scots and broader British vernacular tradition, “Auld Nick” has long been used as a familiar name for the Devil. Hannah’s title plays directly with that tradition, presenting the sinister subject with a mixture of menace and humour rather than solemnity.

The phrase “in Shape O’ Beast” reinforces this folkloric reading. Transformation, disguise and the Devil appearing in animal form are recurring themes in old ballads, chapbooks and oral traditions, and the mask-like face at the centre of the hand gives the object the feel of a protective charm, theatrical prop or ritual folk object.

Hannah’s treatment is not antiquarian imitation. Instead, he reworks these old visual and verbal traditions through his own graphic style: bold colour, irregular hand lettering, deliberately primitive drawing and the immediacy of painted wood.

Painted Plywood and Objet d’Art

Although Hannah is widely known as an illustrator and printmaker, this piece is not a linocut.

It is an original hand-painted plywood cut-out / objet d’art.

The reverse is largely unpainted, clearly revealing the pale plywood construction and reinforcing the object’s handmade, three-dimensional character.

The brushwork is direct and intentionally irregular. Visible grain, uneven paint coverage, hand-drawn lettering and small variations in the painted surface all contribute to the individuality of the piece.

This type of work sits comfortably within Hannah’s broader practice of moving between illustration, printmaking, painted signs and unique three-dimensional objects.

Jonny Hannah and Folk Imagery

Hannah’s work has long drawn from folk art, popular graphics, old songs, maritime culture, tattoo imagery, trade signs and vernacular lettering.

There Sat Auld Nick in Shape O’ Beast is particularly strong in this respect. It combines several of those threads in a single small object:

• the hand as a folk and symbolic form;
• the demonic or bestial face;
• Scots vernacular language;
• hand-painted typography;
• bold, deliberately unsophisticated colour;
• the look of a homemade sign, charm or carnival object.

The result is both humorous and unsettling, which is entirely in keeping with Hannah’s attraction to the strange and marginal visual culture of everyday life.

Date

The work dates from approximately 2016.

This was a period in which Hannah was working extensively with hand-painted signs and three-dimensional objects alongside his prints and paintings, making the form and material especially characteristic of his practice at the time.

Condition

Very good condition overall.

The painted surface remains vivid, with the orange-red, blue, cream and black pigments presenting strongly.

There is light natural surface and edge wear consistent with a hand-painted plywood object of this age. Small paint irregularities, visible wood grain and variation in coverage are part of the handmade construction rather than later damage.

The reverse remains largely unpainted and shows the original plywood surface with minor age-related marking and occasional traces of pigment near the edges.

Please study both photographs carefully as they form an integral part of the description.

Artist: Jonny Hannah
Title: The Sat Auld Nick in Shape O’ Beast
Date: c.2016
Medium: Hand-painted plywood cut-out
Type: Original objet d’art / three-dimensional artwork
Size: 11 × 19.3 cm
Signed: No visible signature on the supplied photographs
Edition: Unique / no edition number apparent
Publisher: Not applicable
Unframed: Yes
Modern reproduction: No

Authenticity

This object has been handled, inspected and catalogued in-house at Hornseys.

Its construction, hand-painted surface, vernacular lettering and painted plywood format are entirely consistent with Jonny Hannah’s known practice of producing unique hand-painted objects alongside his prints and paintings.

It is an original hand-painted artwork, not a linocut, screenprint or later reproduction.

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Explore our evolving collection of Jonny Hannah original paintings, signed and limited-edition prints, illustrated books and related artworks. His distinctive imagery, hand lettering and narrative style draw upon music, maritime culture, vintage advertising, folk art, popular entertainment and the visual character of British towns and seaside communities.

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Established in 1976 and based in Ripon, North Yorkshire, Hornseys is an independent gallery and bookseller specialising in original art, prints, design, collectable books and historic material. Every item is handled, inspected and catalogued in-house at our Ripon gallery.