Arthur Bannon
Wild animals exist only to survive. It can appear from the outside to be the purest form of liberation, few behavioral conventions, no external expectations, license to roam. But they also live at the extremes of fear and freedom, and often their survival hinges on balancing them perfectly.
This existence parallels itself in my works balance of abstraction and representation. The desire to be free, but to convey. This is never more evident than in my image making process. Each image begins as an extensively planned sketch. I then translate the sketch to a painting, applying the paint as freely as I can. During the translation process I put the plans away and paint purely from what I feel the painting needs. It's at this point I feel most conflicted - liberated by the possibilities, constrained by the form.
Wild... and alive.
I was born in Temora NSW, a town once voted by its teenage inhabitants as 'the worlds most boring place to live'. I didn't stick around long enough to find out. We moved around a bit until I spent most of my formative years living in south west Victoria. After school I moved to Melbourne so I could drop out of university twice.
While at university I became pretty skilled at making things that looked good. I quickly turned that skill into a living as a Graphic Designer and Art Director and used it to travel around the world designing for some of the worlds most interesting brands including Nike, MTV, Rayban, Sony, Adidas, The BBC and Coca-Cola. I've worked on 4 of the worlds continents and been fortunate enough to work in places as diverse as Prague, New Orleans, Taipei, New York, San Francisco, Vancouver, London, Dublin, Montreal and Los Angeles.
After a decade based in New York I returned home to Victoria, changed my name, and decided to focus on my true passion - making art that explored the peculiarities of being alive today.
