We have all  heard people say the internet will change the way we live. It effectively releases us from the tyranny of distance to allow opportunities never before considered. For visual artists, the world wide web provides a comfortable venue to exhibit 'samples' of their work to an international audience that often results in artists being contacted by admirers from around the globe. Bateman  knows the value of the net, has used it to display his imagery and has scored an invitation to exhibit his work at the Florence Biennale in 2003. This exhibition is a sample of what may go to Italy.

Bateman photographs people and places around Perth and Fremantle then reduces his subjects to colourful neon line drawings on black ground. By paring each picture back to a different degree of information, the viewer can't take the image for granted. Some 'facts' are removed so we must interpret the work while standing there with one foot in reality the other in imagination.

But these images are more then just the clever manipulation of computer software as they reveal the artist's keen eye for subject selection and pictorial composition. For example in the busy Bargain Hunters Bateman divides the picture surface into three distinct areas while maintaining a cohesive overall image. And in Chair & Mirror all extraneous information is deleted to offer an excellent focal point that tells the truth about how we view life in a hair salon.

What is most intriguing is how the mood of the subject is carried through the electronic process without loss of impact. So we find the sepia tones of Old Man giving warmth to the subject and the horizontal lines of Heading Home relieving some of the stress of rush hour with the promise of peace ahead. Then there is Steel Guitar where the background is bare, the musician is just a glowing contour line while the decorative instrument is fully rendered. This work is all about the music.

Bateman has a way to go yet before he hangs his pictures of Perth streets on Florentine walls but his journey would never have commenced without his photographic artistry, and his web site (http://www.pissedpoet.com)