I discovered the artist Spike Dennis at the recent Bodies & Selves exhibition at Milgi Lounge in Cardiff. The show featured Humanimals (Bestial Drawings), described in the accompanying leaflet as follows:
“Most of the characters’ physical attributes normally associated with gender are obscured or removed and the figures are presented as monstrous hybrid humanoid creatures. The deformation of these figures in a way negates social issues that we would commonly associate with images of the body, allowing for example a pansexual representation of love or attraction, whilst reminding us of our core bestial nature”
Bestial Drawing
Spike Dennis works in a variety of mediums, including clay, fabric, pen, paint and even sequins, resulting in a range of 2D and 3D pieces that can be seen on his website, which also features a blog.
Eurwen (Grotesques)
The artist attended Wimbledon School of Fine Art, before going on to complete a Fine Art Masters degree in Wales. He says of his own work:
“My work is primitive. It is turbulence, chaos, conflict and violent elegance whilst at once it is peace and oneness. It is the strange, the cruel and unusual, the grotesque, the mysterious, the supernatural, moonlight, falling water, mountains and the darkness. It is the land beyond the wall, the Theatre of Dreams, Neverland, Scarlett Thomas’ Mindspace and the space between us. It is also the pursuit of originality, concern with the fleeting present, desire to live in the moment, the past and the future, a sense of timelessness, the thoughtful contemplation of the unknown. It is nostalgia, it is reverie, it is intoxicating dreams, it is sweet melancholy, solitude, the sufferings of exile, the sense of alienation and normlessness, roaming in remote places, especially in the North. It is also self torture, self annihilation and suicide. It is the sadness of unfulfilled expectations. It is the primeval, the unsophisticated, the bosom of nature, green fields, wind chimes, bubbling brooks, the infinite midnight blue sky. No less, however, is it the desire to dress up, blue hair, urban outfits, throbbing sub bass, neon plastic, faery lights, a dedication to the following of fashion. It is wild exhibitionism, eccentricity and the hedonistic pursuit of life. It is both in the world and of the world”
(from http://www.spikeworld.co.uk/statement/)
Blacklight Drawing
If you would like to find out more about Spike on this website, please visit: Dennis, Spike – Info
If you would like to see more of Spike’s work, please visit his website: http://spikeworld.co.uk/
Nominations are now being invited for Artes Mundi 5, a prize for contemporary visual artists who engage with social reality, lived experience and the human condition. The prize is £40,000, with all shortlisted artists receiving £4,000. This international competition is for emerging artists who are known in their local country or region, but not yet well recognised internationally. It will culminate in an exhibition in 2012 in the new contemporary art galleries at the National Museum in Cardiff.
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