'GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION' AT BALTIC

Thursday Nov 9th sees the opening of Guilty by Association, a street art group show at Baltic Gateshead in conjunction with Electrik Sheep.

For this show, I wanted to produce 2 new works: One in keeping with my classic style, honouring my path up to this point and referencing my street art roots (it is a street art exhibition after all), and a second piece in complete contrast, continuing my studio exploration into new stylistic territory with the use of mixed media.

Gravity of Youth - No.2
- Spray paint on panel, 100 x 70 cm

Momentum
- Synthetic polymer paint and spray paint on canvas, 90 x 70 cm

Gravity of Youth No.2 (the second painting in a unique multiple of three) is characteristically clean, tight, graphic, and controlled. There's little room for error in this style and painting in this way is very methodical, highly focused, and slightly anxiety-inducing. Momentum however is the flip side of the coin. Painting in this way is almost a form of therapy and helps balance out the uptightness of my classic stencil work. There's room for error; with mistakes and accidents not just accepted but encouraged.

This step towards a collage-like composition in my painting seems a perfect fit for my ADHD mind, with multiple finishes, approaches, textures and mediums all welcome. The seemingly disparate elements of the piece are a perfect metaphor for my chaotic scattered thinking and extensive interests, the elements that make up a piece carefully chosen and imbued with deep personal significance.
Both directions serve the needs of multiple sides of my personality, and I'm excited to continue exploring both simultaneously.

Gravity of Youth will also be released as an 18 colour screenprint edition quite soon, but more news on that later.

Guilty by Association runs from Nov 9-12, visit the Baltic website for more information by clicking HERE.