This is the most recent of my figurative works- in a very similar vein to the previous post about Charles Dickens. This image is of Castro, and as with the the Dickens picture the original photograph was doctored. In this case however, I’ve based the drawing on the doctored image. There should be another figure in the centre of the picture. As with so many revolutionary photos, as people fell in and out of favour, they were removed from the official “history” . Where Castro’s beard ends, the image becomes almost abstract as a result of the crude manipulation of the original image.

As with the Dickens image, the ideas with this are to do with truth, especially in relation to drawing and its relationship with photography. Whilst I don’t feel I’ve fully resolved the ideas around these works, they’ve been very interesting none the less, and as is often the way with art, raising questions in the first place is often more interesting than actually answering them.

Drawing for Japan Fund raiser

A new piece of my work will be on sale to raise money for the Japan Society Tohoku Relief Fund as part of an art event which will take place in Kennington tomorrow night. The details are below:

Time:
Thursday, April 14 · 5:00pm – 8:00pm
Location:
City and Guilds of London Art School. 124 Kennington Park Road London SE11 4DJ

Art Event
There will be a one-night art event, which will take place on Thursday 14th April. Images of all the artworks are going online for a certain period of time after the event. They will be available for purchase on Art School’s website with a link for donation if unsold on the night of the event. Purchase of the artwork will be on first-come-first-serve basis, and all prices will be fixed at £50. But If the buyer wishes to donate more than a fixed amount you are welcome to do so. An exhibition will start at 5 pm, and the sale desk will open from 6:30pm, to 8pm.

This is the most recent of a new series of figurative works I’m working on this year. The ideas are very similar to my abstract work- it’s all to do with how we understand and interpret visual codes, and looks at various questions around representational art and “truth”.

This particular drawing is based on a photograph of Charles Dickens which was taken to be used to advertise a tour he was undertaking in America. However, the photo wasn’t used- it was doctored- Dickens was made to look less tired, and generally less shabby. This new ” perkier” version was circulated.

By working with photos that were subsequently altered, I’m looking at ideas of where drawing stands in relation to photography, and broader questions around representation.

I’m really enjoying this stint of figurative work, and it’ s helping me reassess my abstract practice, which was my main intention in the first place.

Like lots of artists I tend to shift the focus of my practice periodically as a way, I suppose, of trying to keep developing and moving forward, and hopefully avoid getting stuck in a situation where you are essentially just repeating yourself.

The new work deals with my interest in structuralism (which is also key to my abstract works). The piece is made up from a series a sources (ranging from pop culture to art history), which are put together in a different context. Using a medium such as charcoal, rather than say collage, allows me to unify all the different sources (in this case film stills and paintings), in a way that hopefully isn’t distracting or too obvious. The new amalgamated image starts to suggest new themes and narratives which weren’t present in the original sourced images. The idea is that this would develop further when several pieces are shown together.

I’m still working through all the ideas, but will post more images and text as I progress.

There are 2 posts by me with the title “losing the plot” – the first is just a large version of the image above- please have a look! Text about the image is below:

Standing in the way of a third runway at Heathrow was a small plot of land called Airplot. In January 2010 Greenpeace launched an architectural/ public artwork competition to design a 21st century fortress capable of resisting BAA Heathrow’s bulldozers and halting construction of the runway. Just days before the competition winner was announced, the new government scrapped the plans for the new runway.

I collaborated  on the design of a building and large scale public artwork with Architects James Simpson and Douglas Ardern (of award winning practice Maccreanor Lavington). Our proposal, Skybarn, was inspired by the fragile expression of the scaffolding tripods seen at protests such as Camp for Climate Action. The building soars high above Airplot supported on delicate steel columns, retaining as much green space as possible. The design carries a positive message about the contribution community buildings can provide to a less carbon intensive society. It also carries a wider message by extending the cultural identity already created at Airplot. The building form is inspired by the tithe barn at Harmondsworth, which would be penned in by a third runway, suggesting fertile land and community gathering. An alternative reading of the building is that of the symbolic ark, a receptacle for life, raised above the land as a warning of the impending floods.

The landscape strategy is to ‘defend in depth’ using notional lines of defense like a medieval castle. The innermost ring, a nest of scaffolding erected around Skybarn is intended to impede access from cherry pickers. The nest incorporates temporary bat roosts, intended to provide a legal obstacle to dismantlement or disturbance of the nest. The scaffolding fence is an iconic artwork, placing Skybarn in an assembled nest of ready-made scaffolding poles that suggests numerous ideas of home, safety, man working with, and being inspired by nature, flight, and birds.

SKYBARN, was shortlisted along with several entries from international collaborations of artists and architects, and exhibited at the Greenpeace exhibition at the Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street, South Bank earlier this year. More information and images are on the raymond gun website:

www.raymondgun.co.uk

Anyway, having decided it was Thursday, I was weighing up whether to be responsible and work late, or go to a private view, drink champagne, and deal with the consequences later. The private view won hands down. I headed off into the West End to Rollo Contemporary to see “Paint” a group show featuring an old friend of mine, with whom I used to share a studio- Andrew Hollis- who isn’t currently based in London, and so I rarely get to see. Also in the show is Margot Sanders, who I haven’t met, but was in a show with in Vienna last year (which I couldn’t afford to actually go to myself- it still seems odd paying for paintings to travel somewhere when you can’t then go yourself). I thought it would also be a good chance to actually meet her.

However, it was a Wednesday, not Thursday- the opening night- and so when I arrived the gallery was decidedly closed to the public; Simon Gillespie- the gallery director was still making the final tweaks to the lighting of the show. Luckily he saw me loitering outside, realised my mistake, and very kindly offered to let me have a sneak preview. It’s a killer show, I think I liked everything in it- very much one for painters to check out (perhaps not altogether unsuprisingly with a show called “Paint”).

I was particularly impressed with Andrew’s new work- a series of paintings taken from an encyclopedia from 1967 (before the upheavals of 1968 and the impact this had on philosophy and art which continues to this day). Fantastically painted, and slightly overworldly, like most of his recent work dealing with ideas around realism. Well worth checking out if you’re in the West End.

http://www.standpointlondon.co.uk/spgallery.html