VIEW IN MY ROOM
United Kingdom
Painting, Acrylic on Linen
Size: 57.1 W x 45.3 H x 1.2 D in
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In this series of multi-layered paintings that are simultaneously abstract and figurative, James brings together elements from paper clothing patterns, embroidery, and his personal collection of gay porn magazines secretly gathered during his teenage years. By including paper patterns of clothes that symbolise covering the body in order to protect the self, James deconstructs the years he felt pressured into hiding his sexuality. However, the interplay of clothing and pornography also subverts the concept of concealment - the clothing never desexualises or fully obscures the pornographic imagery, instead synthesising it into the larger pattern which frames, draws attention to, and piques interest in it. The use of embroidery is symbolic and significant - the immediate connection with clothing, the weaving together of otherwise disparate elements, and the “repetitive, emotional and physically enduring” process the artist describes as being reminiscent of masturbation and sex. Through the way the pornographic imagery interacts with embroidery and clothing patterns, James traces how he found authenticity in sexual desire and experimentation.
Painting:Acrylic on Linen
Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork
Size:57.1 W x 45.3 H x 1.2 D in
Frame:Not Framed
Ready to Hang:Yes
Packaging:Ships in a Crate
Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.
Handling:Ships in a wooden crate for additional protection of heavy or oversized artworks. Crated works are subject to an $80 care and handling fee. Artists are responsible for packaging and adhering to Saatchi Art’s packaging guidelines.
Ships From:United Kingdom.
Customs:Shipments from United Kingdom may experience delays due to country's regulations for exporting valuable artworks.
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United Kingdom
After graduating in 2002 with an MA Fine Art from Central Saint Martins, James worked in a central London commercial art gallery for 3 years. Following this, he moved into the public sector where over the past 14 years he has worked for the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, Arts Council England and the UK Government Art Collection. In January 2019, after a 17-year break, he went back into the studio to continue his art practice in London. Since then, he has been longlisted for John Moores Painting Prize (2020 & 2023), shortlisted for the VAO UK & International Emerging Artist Awards (2023), RBSA Drawing Prize (2023), The Bridget Riley Fellowship (2023/24), THE TAGLI 01.23 Collection and Mentorship Award (2023), StART x MMG Emerging Artist Prize (2022) and Derwent Art Prize (2022), been selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (2021), won the Mervyn Metcalf Purchase Prize at the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition (2021), and was awarded a special commendation at the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize (2020). James's work reflects on the experience of discovering his sexuality and his journey to understanding, accepting and valuing it. Since returning to his practice, his focus has been on a new body of work with two key threads - personal experience as subject matter and the referencing and re-appropriation of a personal archive of gay porn secretly collected during his teenage years when he felt pressured into hiding his true sexuality. James recalls: “At that time, these magazines were the only place I could see representations of intimacy between men. This was the pre-internet age when anti-gay sentiment in the UK was at its peak following the HIV/AIDS pandemic and introduction of the notoriously homophobic legislation - Section 28 of the Local Government Act. There was virtually no queer representation or visibility, and if you did happen to find some, it was certainly not positive”. From drawings on cigarette papers, to paintings and collages embellished with embroidery - James approaches his use of media in a playful way with complete openness, whilst consistently maintaining a quality and cohesion, making it deeply personal.
Artist featured by Saatchi Art in a collection
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