Richard Shields
I invoke personal experiences affecting a wider cross-section of society. A relationship with the viewer is built through familiarity in objects and the site-specific. These concerns inform painting, drawing and sculpture, encompassing realism and abstraction. My recent Technical Drawings are based on my experiences as an art handler and meme culture. Each work presents images associated with art technicians, accompanied by anecdotal titles. These drawings are made on offcuts from paper with prior significance (or a dent). The off cut, like the technician is a hidden process in exhibition production.
Recently my work has incorporated performance and film. I use contrasting historical and contemporary aesthetics in the form of costume. Operatic performances through a megaphone regale the tragic tale of a struggling artist, lamenting let downs by galleries and collectors. The Emperors New Instagram is a reimagining of the classic tale of false promise, told in the form of a Ted Talk about social media importance. The Emperor’s demonstration results in the periodical deterioration of his metal health, through lack of ‘likes’. All performances are delivered wearing a crude mask of my own face. The mask is a thin veil separating fact from fiction.