City of Woes
I am obsessed with history and myth and even have a tattoo dedicated to Egyptian mythology. My project theme is demonology and draws from various mythologies such as Catholic, Norse, Celtic, Native American. I’m inspired by poetry from the Renaissance period including Dante’s Inferno (1307-1321); as well as artists such as Hieronymus Bosch and William Blake. Contemporary influences include SFX artists such as Barry Gower and Neill Gorton; Comic book artists Mike Mignola and Frank Miller. TV series such as The Witcher (2019) and Game of Thrones (2011-19) have found their way into my work because of their fantastical depictions of creatures, the art style, and detailed SFX.
I like to investigate the past to give me a unique perspective on art and show what has helped to shape our culture and how we see things now. As an artist it is essential for me to create work that brings joy even from such macabre subject matter often manifested in SFX and horror films.
The work is a sculpture in polymer clay of a demon inspired by my contextual research, and two A2 paintings in acrylic on panel, incorporating text and image and sequential illustrations that depict the entrance to hell and the demonic environment in which the character lurks.
I have combined my specialist areas of SFX and Illustration using traditional media of drawing, painting, and sculpture. They allow me to experiment with analogue mark-making, paint mixing and modelling as a means of storytelling. The surface of panel allows me to develop the final paintings from the drawings made directly on the panel. I chose Illustration because I like telling a story and seeing my idea’s transform onto a page and SFX because, the element of detailed transformation which has always fascinated me: both topics allows me to escape into fantasy worlds.
