Eric Hesse’s work exists in the space between presence and absence. Billboards are a motif that have appeared in his work previously but in this series Hesse dives deeply into this iconic form. But notably, Hesse has removed all but the slightest traces of recognizable content from the billboards.

In Adjusted Expectations, the content of the billboard seems to flow upwards as if melting in reverse - the contents disintegrating and floating away. In Lost at Sky the contents have lifted off the billboard completely leaving blankness with just a faint hint of color. In Up All Night, the billboard itself is a transparent veil through which we can see the starry lights of the city beyond. With the ubiquitous and highly recognizable shape as the the centerpiece of each painting, Hesse is asking us to consider what these forms represent. Ancient Celts used the term ‘thin spaces’ to describes locations where the veil between this world and another is less solid, making the unseen and mystical seem more proximate and real. While Hesse is not suggesting that there is something mystical about billboards, he is suggesting that removing the trappings of mass media and the highly monetized commercial culture we live in might give us access to a sense of peace that can feel lacking. Perhaps billboards are obscuring the ‘thin space’.