The Upset – Young Contemporary Art
The Upset contains a rich collection of works from young contemporary artists across the globe. As is the case with most young artists of today, influences are most commonly drawn from popular culture, whether it be comic books, illustrations, film or rock’n’roll music! And as with all challenging artists, the boundaries of decency are often pushed to the limit through the macabre and the sinister. Brendan Danielsson’s ‘Charles Bukkake’ shows a grotesque man dripping with semen from his face, while his ‘Barbarella’ has middle aged women aiming a penis pistol squirting out black effluent.
Brendan Danielsson, Charles Bukkake, 2006
John John Jesse paintings are highly influenced by the Pop art movement touching on subjects such as molotov cocktails and naked tattooed rock chicks. Along with this, his ‘Idol Worship’ reminisces of The Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper mixed with The Ramones, Bowie, Sex Pistols and Kiss. Miss Van shows pictures of a submissive almost suicidal geisha but the most startling images come from Mark Ryden’s surreal depictions of the fairytale. Illustrative in nature, its Lewis Carroll-themed images of children often hints at the unforeseen sinister implications. This is best shown in ‘Meat Maggie’ where a young child runs towards a meat van. Driving the van is a black skeleton in pink uniform using an Abraham Lincoln puppet to entice the child, whilst a bee preys on top of the van. All very strange indeed!
John John Jesse, The Three Headed Wife, 2004
In all, the majority of the works are impressive, though sometimes you have to take a breather from the visual disturbances of naked ladies, blood, murder and the downright grotesque. However there is no denying that these artists are highly talented. Look out for the works of Camille Rose Garcia, Anne Faith Nichols and Moke - these are particular favourites!
The Upset: Young Contemporary Art
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The Upset – Young Contemporary Art (text) by Marlon Dolcy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 UK License.
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