Saturday 23 August 2014

MA Show @ Chelsea

Work nearly ready aching all over and spending today Sat 23 August doing finishing touches at  home 

Gone mad 











Sunday 17 August 2014

Artist Statement


Artist Statement
JOSHUA RAFFELL

The artists that inspire Joshua Raffell are Paul McCarthy, Georges Bataille, Vitto Acconci, Nathalie Djuberg, Delaine Le Bas, Annette Messager, Key Hiraga, Francis Alys and Hans Bellmer.

“I want to create work that I believe to be exciting and provocative. I borrow influences from artists who inspire me. Creating sculptures, drawings and paintings that reflect the debauchery and underbelly of society, I’m interested in seeing what lies beneath”.

By building, breaking down and remaking, Raffell allows each medium, to influence the other. Making it difficult to make a definite distinction between a preparatory drawing and a sculpture. The decisions and ideas evolve and change through the process of making. Paintings, drawings and sculptures which all share an integral space within the process of a finished product. Albeit momentarily as the works are broken down and mended in an endless circle. This interaction allows freedom for him to be able to work between the different mediums.

This state of flux allows the work to become unique as the work starts off by being a bibliography of himself and the difficult aspects of childhood and adulthood dealing with aspects of acceptance of being a gay man and more complex elements of dealing with adult emotions from sexual abuse as a young boy. The work aims to go beyond the self to a wider concept of otherness. A term coined by Sue Golding in ‘the eight technologies of otherness’. In other words making the work less subjective and more objective allowing for a wider contextualization of the work and making it more accessible to a wider audience.

Raffell suggests that we have, in many ways, lost our way and no longer know what it means to be human. We have suppressed and altered our natural urges evolving into the robots and ever-progressive human computers. We have lost the ability of individual thinking. At the same time, Raffell is quite fearless in dealing with concepts in which individual thinking is nonsensical idea; humans are but what John Gray describes as a plague of bacteria that is heading towards the destruction of everything around us. Something like a giant ant’s nest of activity with, just maybe, something calling the shots at the centre. To redeem this world of no or lost decision making, then the act of wanking is probably the closest thing we come to actually pleasing ourselves.

Through this very act the works may be considered shameful, naughty and over the top with the constant use of erotic body parts in particular the phallus and the theme of masturbation, used not only to make the work more accessible to a wider audience (rather than gay erotica) but also to break down the white male hierarchy which is still prevalent in the progressive modern world. One, which still dictates and marginalizes minority or less powerful groups. Mary Douglas describes the alpha male in ‘Purity and Danger’ as the one who labels and discriminates; who inflicts shame to create a social order and to marginalize and push out those who may be considered different and pose a threat to their dominate position.

Masturbation is chosen specifically for the act of humiliation at being caught, the shame of showing or discussing. It is significantly different from sex, a socially acceptable that causes at worse a giggle or an expression at shock when brought into the open. Masturbation by contrast is always suggestive of shame, embarrassment and privacy, whether the act is private or public.  

This seemingly innocent, patchwork puppet-like figures encourage even further interaction from the viewer by featuring a projecting handle or pulley to crank or windup the work. This inviting quality engages the viewer to take part in and to become an integral part of the work making us re-think sexual taboo and the things that may otherwise cause us disgust or that are used to make us feel shame.

Toilet graffiti, from public toilets are taken from idyllic seaside towns and villages from around England, they offer a glimpse into the underbelly of a community where dark sexual depravity and debauchery would otherwise cause shock, the messages of sexual graphic material leave us wondering how genuine the tales that they tell really are, from a 15 year old boy who likes to be hard fucked by hairy Daddies to a more sedate and shocking message of someone who wants to fit in but feels its time to die!

The work is openly gay in nature. It is a celebration of the journey to freedom for gay people and a remembrance of the loss for many individuals who simply were. The work could be interpreted as political as Raffell take’s a stand against homophobia and prejudice, and without a hint of paranoia he remains prepared for a backlash from those who wallow in their hatred.  All this is enveloped in an emotion of joy, release and humour at the colour, pattern and sexual delight of the work.

He wants to test, and tease, both the audience and himself to face up to their inner shame. He takes these ideas and then re-configures these erotic sculptures, in doing so he takes the ideas of shameful acts and places them in a very public setting. To be judged and physically played with by its audience.

“At my most polemical I refuse to be drawn by other peoples shame or their inner world conflicts”.

Artist C.V Joshua Raffell


Artist C.V.
Joshua Raffell
48, Granleigh Rd,
Leytonstone,
London,
E11 4RQ
Mobile: 07986157748
http://www.studio1-1.co.uk/artist-in-residence-2011-joshua-raffell/ 
Born Nuneaton, England, 24th February 1970

Exhibitions: Solo Show, Studio1.1., 7th August 2014, Brazier Park, Oxfordshire, ‘…To Deprave and Corrupt’ Talk and group show, 17th-18th May 2014,
Raw Artist, Proud Camden, 25th Sept 2013, Sluice art fair, October 2013,
 Stonespace Gallery Group Show, ‘Reside’, Feb 2013
Studio1.1 Solo Show, ‘30 days 30 artists’ July 10th -11th 2012,
The Other Art Fair,P3, 10th – 13th May 2012, P3, The Fountain, 11th – 15th April, 2012, Framless Gallery,  Art/Convertors, studio1.1 19th Jan-29th Jan2012, studio1.1 Boutique Hook, Jan 6th -14th 2012, Solo Show. Cycled Around London Rivington Space. Book Binding with ‘Fabelists’ with work on Trailer, Oct, 2011.Sluice art-fair, London. Oct 2011. Supernormal, Oxfordshire, August 2011. Hackney Wicked, The Framing Workshop, Hackney Wick, July 2011. Solo show, studio1.1, Pop Up, May 2011. Half Baked, London, March & April 2011. Cycled Around London with work on Trailer, Feb, March, April, 2011. APT gallery, Q-Art, Nov,2010.
Publications: ‘REWIND’ Aldgate Press Ltd, London, 2009,  

Please check out my blog for current work and to see what inspires me… http://joshuaraffellart.blogspot.co.uk/

Current-  “Clusterfuck Asthetics” (a manic depressive panic attack in the face of information overload). Jerry Saltz. I intend to strip back current affairs by dissecting the hypocrisy of those in power questioning ideas of taboo and shame. I propose that we no longer know where we stand in a modern complex society because our natural urges are suppressed, perverted and altered beyond the realms of natural, into something confused and confusing (unnatural) working around the ideas of Anthropologist Mary Douglas ‘Purity and Danger’ I want to remove shame and dirt the things that marginalize us. I want to explore a world without the constraints of consumerism, Religion, I intend to make work that breaks down the barrier of shame to analyse and dissect attachment theory as away to create work that questions and provokes debate…



References:
Michael Keenan & Keran James  Brian Chalkley
http://www.studio1-1.co.uk/     Chelsea, MA Fine Art, Course Leader

Wednesday 13 August 2014

Getting ready for final show at Chelsea MA show Sept 5th

 'Everything thats wrong with men' 
'Everthing thats wrong with men' is proving to be a bit of ahead ache as the head is supposed to open up but after several changes its still refusing to work but the scissors and winking motion work well...

'FART RACE'
 First page of the second pop up which is inspired by the Shunga Fart racing scroll.

Friday 8 August 2014

Craft and Controversy @ studio1.1

 Thanks to everyone for coming along last night and making the night a success.
 Sasha who I had met before and showed his work in the Art Converters at studio1.1 said it was the best show he had seen along side Matisse at the Tate and was going to go back and see the work without so many people and tell all his arty friends to come along and have a look...

















Rebecca Lindsay- Addy Could do with an explanation of the intentions of the two figures displaying racist black stereotypes?
I’m interested in breaking down barriers of sexism, race and minority groups putting things out of context and questioning our own prudishness. The Christmas Fairy in a the show called ‘Craft and controversy’ was intended to embrace difference and question both my own tolerance and that of others. 
 When I think of a fairy they are always white light and fluffy I wanted to question this stereotype and to show a different side to the conseived idea of what a fairy looks

like. I had done a previous Xmas Fairy which was old and fat 
 I try and find the beauty in what may be considered ugly.
The ‘Golli What’ was obviously inspired by the 19th century Golliwog toys which caused controversy and was latter banned from production as they were deemed racist. 
As a Gay man I am only to aware of the lean to the right with UKIP being given a platform in the media in the local elections. Which will not only affect myself as a gay man but other minority groups. We need to keep looking back at how things in the past have shaped modern thinking allowing us a rich diversity of cultural exchange and a considerable amount of acceptance of difference. 
 Its important to remind our selfs of the things that others endured for our benefit and if we neglect to do this then the very thing we strive towards a society where colour and sexual orientation just are. Become forgotten and then the bigoted fascists who are a threat to all minority groups and that includes white women are given a voice and allowed to dictate and discriminate.


http://www.spiked-online.com/freespeechnow/fsn_article/exhibit-b-we-must-fight-for-the-right-to-be-offensive#.VCSd70v0opF