The painting practice of Joe Cheetham defies static categorisation, fluidly adapting style and medium to articulate varied moments of human emotion. As such, Cheetham’s current exhibition Life is overtaking me can be perceived as a non-linear continuation of his first solo show at L21 “Something for the weekend” (Palma de Mallorca, 2021). While in his previous work the use of cartoonish figures, primary colours and an ingenious spray paint technique allowed the artist to capture the frenzied communal joy of bodies raving, this new body of work, executed in oil, uses a muted palette and a more subtle approach to create a quiet, yet pervasive sense of anxiety, insecurity and alienation.