This new series of work has been a project I have wanted to do for some time and I have several interviews/shoots to move on to and a lot more people to talk to about their work and the state of art within Northern Ireland. I have always been interested in what goes on behind the scenes of big events and this has lead to me interested in what goes on to make a piece of art, to make a new collection, to design, to craft.

I look to old masters of painting and also several photographers in development of this work, the style of lighting, the highlights and the setting. I do not want to change their studio, I want to document it, document their working environment but to style and shape it with light. I have thought about this work as set up documentary, creating a narrative and a story within the image of the artist and what they do, this work is only beginning to get its legs and has a lot of room to change. I want to not only create these stunning images, but also to highlight the work of artists and creators, the work that goes on behind the scenes which goes largely unnoticed. To hear their thoughts, opinions on art and also their view on the world at the moment, this community has a fantastic veiw on the world and I wish to hear it.

I start in Belfast NI work outwards. I start with a friend and a fantastic artist, Leo Boyd, who work has been popping up across Belfast for the last number of years gaining the attention of collectors and galleries across Northern Ireland.

Describe your practice.

Being alive and being aware of the vast universe and total madness
that spins around our heads is pretty inspiring. I think for humans on this
weird planet it is important to get involved in the story telling and myth
making that is part of our lives. Taking control of the story is one of the
most important things we, as humans, can do.

The work that I make I see as single panels of a comic strip that
exists as an isolated piece, an isolated piece that invokes the rest of the
story. I love the immediacy of our last century’s propaganda: in the way that,
by design alone, it told complex stories to a barely illiterate audience, an
audience who went on to change the world. Now, in the internet age, I think it
is important to learn the lessons of the early propagandists, in order to
challenge the prevailing narratives. Red black and white, the colours of the
tabloid, the colours of the prevailing narrative can easily be twisted to fit
the stories that we want to tell. The style should tell the story. The story
should fit the style.

How did your work start
and where you are now with your practice.

Being alive and being aware of the vast universe and total madness
that spins around our heads is pretty inspiring. I think for humans on this
weird planet it is important to get involved in the storytelling and myth
making that is part of our lives. Taking control of the story is one of the
most important things we, as humans, can do.

Who or what inspires you.

The most inspiring thing about artists, scientists, writers, thinkers
is that they channel their energy to create new narratives and boundaries in
which we ourselves can exist.

What is a usual day for you in the studio, anything in
particular you do to get you set.

My normal day is a series of panic attacks punctuated by moments of
confused calm. Within this I try to make art.

What is the best piece of advice you have been given.

My first art tutor used to leap up and down on tables and scream and
sometimes head but walls. He would have gone by the ethos make art and make art
well. Use anything and everything in your sphere… learn to use power tools.
Don’t use glitter. Get your own studio. Learn the rules and then break them.

What is the best bit of
advice you have for others

Learn to write grant proposals and if you don’t know how to do that
ask someone who does.

What do you do to take your head away from your work. What chills you out.

I am mad into reading books! Last night I had a dream in which I was
explaining to Laura and some unknown male how the printed words on a newspaper
had a physical sound that reacted to the paper being turned. At first they were
sceptical of my theory but when I turned the page their little faces lit up as
they heard the vibrations of the ink. I think that I maybe slightly obsessed by
print as a medium. I like to surf too. But one of my favourite things is to
drag my girlfriend Laura about churches and ancient European ruins.

Your style, can you tell
me a bit more about it.

I am not sure about style… I think all things come down to what
materials you have and how you use them. I have always been into comics so
telling stories has always been something that I have tried to do in my work…
the great thing about comics, and I don’t mean marvel or dc, is the way that
they mash words and motion, sound and vision… comics are a great grounding in
how still images expand to become part of a wider story.

Thanks for reading, to see more of his work check him out here or on Facebook

Mal.

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