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Jonathan Ridley
I've been an artist as long as I can remember. It started off with daubs of colour, pictures of soldiers shooting each other, and bubblegum factories.I have not been professionally schooled as an artist since my GCSE’s, preferring to find my own voice rather than be told what art is or how to do it. I have never stopped working as an artist, despite doing other jobs. As time has gone on, I have become increasingly interested in how humanity has a symbiotic relationship with technology, we feed off each other and need each other, technology simultaneously liberates us and binds us. It pushes us away from a spiritual existence and drives us to consume and destroy our environment, for this reason we have an essentially schizophrenic relationship with our primal and spiritual selves. My art is primarily about how I, and we, face the world as human beings and cope with the pressures that this THING we have created puts upon us. One of my paintings is called 'Magical Journeys', and I feel that that title sums up what I want to do with my work. I want people to travel around the canvas and discover things, to find something new each time they look, and to share in my subconscious, my dreams, and my visions. The world moves at such a fast pace and we pile things around ourselves, objects, fashions, sensibilities, trends, and material to try to fill the gap. I try in my paintings to get people to look in a mirror, and challenge their ideas about humanity and its place or pace in the world. I am also part of a comic collective called Underfire Comics. We write, produce, publish, and market our own independent alternative comic and sell it at conventions and in various outlets around the south east of the UK, and have been doing so successfully for over 4 years. Exhibitions/Features 1999-Phoenix gallery-Brighton Open exhibition 2001-2002-open house exhibitions in Brighton festival. 2002-organised and ran mural project at Brighton racecourse through ‘Sorted’ magazine project. 2003- Space Gallery-Brighton 2003-2006-exhibited as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival. 2004-Air Gallery-London. Winner of the Lexmark European Art Prize for the South East of the UK. ( Shortlisted down to the last 5 entries from over 4000 submissions ) 2004-featured on BBC Southern Counties talking about my art, comics, and the West Pier. 2004-Featured in the Brighton Argus about my success in the Lexmark prize. 2005-Mock Turtle gallery-Brighton 2005-took part in ITV’s ‘A Brush with Fame’ 2006- RAW arts festival Valencia-Color Elefante gallery 2007-Climate of change-Londonart exhibition-London 2007-John Bloxham Gallery-St. John's Hill-London 2008-MASS-An Installation held at Clermont church Brighton for the Brighton Open | |||||
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