SHARED FUTURE: 'Touch' and 'Seer' with Maria K

'Shared Future', Empire Gallery, Vyner St, London.
4th - 21st March 2009



I recently exhibited two works I made with Icelandic photographer Maria Kjartansdottir at Empire Gallery in London.

I have known Maria for quite a few years now. I have always admired the delicate balance in the subtlety and intensity of colour and emotion she puts into her pictures. She has a great eye for figurative motion and divides her compositions into soft tones of colour and detail and deep blacks.

We have since long discussed the potential of combining elements of our individual work to produce something we consider as a fusion of light, colour, motion and detail. The two works I contributed to in Shared Future tell the story of this discussion.


[above] 'touch' [below] 'seer' are mixed media images: Monoprint on C-type photographic print, editions of 7.

SHARED FUTURE: Interview with Maria k

The work in this exhibition deals with subjects that concern us all; circumstances and emotions that we have all felt and are aware of, but often seldom consider and express. In this video Maria talks about some of her pictures and their origins.

I produced and co-edited this video interview with UK-based independent media collective ccmedia.

cc media

cc media are an independent media collective, founded by Cressida Kocienski and Caroline Ward. Involved in multiple fields of the creative and communication industries cc media work UK wide filming events, art-related content and education resources.

Following the trail of the most important new media based productions and most influential art and music festivals cc media's experience and large network of directors, animators, writers and other creative talents provides services distributed on a ample range of platforms including video podcasts, web-based streaming, DVD and public display.

You can find out more about cc media and follow their activity here.

Blue Bambinos - BLUEB001

Sometimes the hours at my gallery job seem endless compared to the hours I spend on my artwork, which always seem to fly by and are never enough. I was reminded of this catch-22 when gallery assistant but also bass player of the band Blue Bambinos Jose Pereira passed me in a hallway of the gallery where we both work. As he emerged through a ten foot tall wooden doorway he seemed like he was expecting to meet me and simply reached out and handed me the contents of his hand, and with that he winked and smiled contentedly as he continued on his way through the gallery. In my hand was now laying a copy of the Blue Bambinos' self titled debut album.

On arriving at home that evening the audio cd made its way straight into my living room music player... I must have listen to it twice over as I made and ate dinner and then sat down and had to sketch to a third session. As a result I made these pictures inspired by two tracks from the album.

Don't Touch Me



Don't Look Into Her Eyes



All tracks on the album are recorded live, expressing the Blue Bambinos' elemental part in London's live music circuit. The album includes the tracks In The Dirt, Ab/G#, Don't Touch Me and Don't Look Into Her Eyes, some personal favorites, but on the hole it is a great example of the quality of London's forever merging and unparalleled underground musical talent.

Follow updates on the Blue Bambinos music here.

astute cast of light

BLEEP'N'RIDE