IS THIS THIS IS…. Elliot Mudd
elysium gallery, High street studios, 2nd Floor, 27 – 29 High Street, Swansea
Weds 15th Feb,7pm
Painter, Elliot Mudd has been the latest Artist in residence at the IS THIS THIS IS Project space the past 4 weeks.
Elliot has an innate desire to paint; to explore and test the boundaries of abstraction. Elliot’s whole artistic being is derived from a personal experience and has triggered a process of cathartic creativity. His previously oppressed emotions and struggles are now poured out into the work, allowing for the most raw and unrestricted form of expression.
The blank space in a sketchbook parallels the ‘white cube’ of a typical exhibition space; it reflects the overall notion that the body of work is made up of individual moments. These are revealed within the space; a space which can be perceived as neutral, or pending; a space of potentiality. The practice of reflection and the interrelationship between active and passive space is important for his development as a painter, because it creates conditions for the audience to submerge themselves in the body of work whilst at the same time lets others make their own opinions about what is presented: physical space becomes metaphorical, intellectual and emotional space. The work progresses towards a consideration of a shared absence presented in abstract paintings.
The two dimensional pictorial space of the canvas represents a three dimensional experience. The flat surface mirrors Elliot’s internal struggles, where the paint then encapsulates his reactions, and the invisible becomes visible through the marks created. In a sense, Elliot’s work could be described objectively as a physical representation of void; indirectly referencing it’s absence yet simultaneously embodying its emotive power.
Situated in the elysium gallery High Street studios, the project space is used on a monthly basis by selected residency artists and the elysium gallery studios community. The aim is to enable artists to work and experiment towards creating new work in an environment outside of their usual studio practice in preparation for critical discussions within the group. The space enables artists to develop, to build, to take risks, to test and to invite peers to see the work in progress.
Only members of elysium gallery studios and guests are invited to these group discussions.