The Soma Series.
In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley depicted a society where the ruling classes induced compliance over the masses, not by force, but through endless streams of entertainment. A society where people were not only unaware of their servitude but enjoyed it. In particular, the book depicts a population who freely self-medicate by taking a drug called “Soma”, which gave them a daily boost of euphoria and a lift from reality.
The main theme underlying the “Soma series” is cause and effect, the complex interplay between external forces, predispositions and past experiences. This dialogue between the outer world and the inner-self, between mind and body began when reading about the “fight or flight” hormone and neurotransmitter Epinephrine (adrenaline), which we produce daily. If not released out of the body through an activity like exercise it can leave us feeling edgy and agitated, the result is a behaviour like road rage. I thought this encapsulated modern life in a nutshell and chose to execute this idea by producing a painting of an Angiogram x- ray that shows the beautiful architecture of blood streams in the brain.
This led me to think more about hormones, blood streams and neurotransmitters, about their impact on emotions. I also began thinking about the type of things we put in our bodies, not only to induce pleasure, but also as coping strategy against stress and anxiety. I concluded that perhaps most of us walk around in a more or a less altered state of consciousness. I began focusing on the reward part of the brain, the dopaminergic pathway, otherwise known as the pleasure pathway which is hugely influential in human emotional behaviour. This pathway serves not only our innate instinctual drives such as hunger and sex, but it can also be activated by mood enhancing stimuli, from drugs and alcohol to caffeine and sugar hits, moreover dopamine spikes are highly prevalent when we develop habitual behaviours like gambling or the big one social media addiction. More positive research suggests the dopaminergic pathway may also play a role in transcendental experiences associated with music, art and spirituality.
Although there is wealth of psychological research on this subject from Skinner’s reinforcement experiments, Pavlov’s classical conditioning theory and Freud’s focus on unconscious drives, one need only observe the pressure cooker that is modern life to see how dopamine is intrinsically used as a coping mechanism and may explain why certain personalities feel compelled to flirt with the flames.
Pathways series.
As the Angiogram paintings and light boxes are very much a conceptual and conscious idea, for these paintings, I wanted to tap into the unconscious part of my brain, so I started doodling whatever came to mind without reference, classic automatic drawing. Unintentionally what emerged was recurring theme of pathways, corridor’s and barriers.
I initially set out to paint these sketches in flat oil, however, I thought it might be interesting to use the drag technique on abstract shapes. This technique not only elevated the paintings, but a slightly unsettling imagery emerged.
The Night Driving Series.
Driving on British roads conjures a mixture of emotions. When traffic is fast and fractious it can be infuriating and exhilarating. Conversely driving at night can sometimes lead to almost a feeling of calm.
The nocturn paintings attempt encapsulate the phenomena of driving alone on dark silent roads. There are not many points during the day where someone or something is not demanding our attention, however if you switch off your phone, turn off the radio, your car is one of the few places that truly offers solitude. Night driving under halogen lights can be a hypnotic experience, which allows us to pause for thought, reflect on the past, look to the future while the world is a little less frenetic.
Charcoals.
The charcoals were initially preparation sketches for a series of semi abstract paintings I had in mind, which were to be based around the idea of Intimacy. In 2016 I was asked to participate in in a group show called "Paperwork" so I worked them up a bit.
The Intimacy paintings never materialised, however later in 2019 I was reading an article about the mysterious and suspicious death of Natalie Wood. There has been much conjecture that her husband Robert Wagner may have pushed her overboard as he was jealous of her relationship with Christopher Walken who also happened to be on the boat that night.
As result of this article, I went back to these sketches and decided to make a small series of paintings on the subject of jealousy. I was curious why sexual jealousy imbues such destructive behaviour and what happens to a person psychologically and physiologically.
Studies have shown jealousy causes neurological spikes in the Cingulate Cortex and Lateral Septum, areas associated with bonding and social pain. Moreover, when someone becomes jealous, they produce the hormone Cortisol (C21H30O5) which may explain possible rash behaviour.
Research has suggested that that jealousy is a result of deep routed insecurities in the individual.
Evolutionary psychologist Karen Bale has suggested that jealousy in Monogamous species is evolutions way of protecting relationships and social order.
Education.
BSc Hons Psychology. (First Class)
Open University. 2006
4 year College Diploma in Advertising Art Direction and Copywriting
Barking College of Technology. 1989