This is my first entry for Artwork of Fantasy and Imagination, the next exhibition that I'll be doing with the group I did the Sydney Comic Art & Drawing Exhibition with. The show will run from 17th - 24th December, at The Shop Gallery, Glebe, here in Sydney. A lot of my stuff has been comic and sci-fi based, so fantasy is a chance to try something different.
Most of the fantasy stuff I've enjoyed has been in a contemporary setting (China Mieville, Geoffrey Thorne, Neil Gaimen, and Garth Ennis' Preacher are the ones that come to mind), so I wanted to do some pieces that put fantasy figures into everyday settings.
This is why my research sketches from the last few weeks have bounced from builders on a tea break to flaming skulls and people with fish heads. So what's the backstory?
Most of the fantasy stuff I've enjoyed has been in a contemporary setting (China Mieville, Geoffrey Thorne, Neil Gaimen, and Garth Ennis' Preacher are the ones that come to mind), so I wanted to do some pieces that put fantasy figures into everyday settings.
This is why my research sketches from the last few weeks have bounced from builders on a tea break to flaming skulls and people with fish heads. So what's the backstory?
It's been just 18 months since the first of the refugees arrived through the portals. In cities all over the world, people have started to grow accustomed to having neighbours and, increasingly, workmates who would have been the stuff of myths 2 years ago.
While most refugees are reluctant to talk about their experiences, there are rumours circling of harsh and brutal feudal societies, with appalling living conditions. No wonder, many say, that they have been so quick to train and enter the modern workforce, and, where possible, assimilate into 21st century culture.
©2015 James Mathurin
