One of my favourites: MARK LYKEN
In Mark Lyken’s headspace: creating art evocative of something galactic, whilst exploring relationships between people and places and the influence of sound and visuals.
When I first discovered audio and visual artist Mark Lyken it was purely coincidental. One particularly rainy afternoon, I found myself in a London Wagamama in search of shelter and hoping to find some kind of caffeinated drink. Struggling to get my oversized umbrella under control in a room packed with people who had had the same genius idea, I spotted Lyken’s name on the Wagamama ‘art and eat’campaign poster. Lyken’s graffuturistic art, which captures the essence of the connection between visual and musical manifestation, stood out to me as an explosion of kaleidoscopic dynamics.
When the 2007 recession hit, DIY art forms such as street art and self-produced music boomed, paving the way for Lyken’s unique mode of expression. Fuelled by heartbreak and a failed business Lyken moved to Glasgow. Switching from urban graffiti to more abstract, gallery based art he found his calling in sonic art forms. The buoyant quality of his work attracted up-and-coming, Glasgow-based Recoat Gallery, which was later instrumental in launching Lyken as an artist.
Lyken’s art, initially a recreation of bacteria and other internal life forms, resembles vibrant outer space constellations. Musically, Lyken is drawn by the melodic, monophonic effect of drone tunes. For the artist, there is no real line between the two art forms, no definitive segregation. It is hard to say which is which, as one becomes the response to the other. To Lyken, the combination of music and art is prolific as long as it is not overanalysed. He is adamant never to impose an interpretive meaning on his art; it simply “is what it is”.
Lyken has matured into more than a musical street artist, a fact which was cemented when he joined internationally renowned art house, Cryptic, earlier this year. The Terrestrial Sea, commissioned by Cryptic, will make its debut at Multiplicidade Festival in Brazil between 29 and 30 November. His award-winning film, Mirror Lands, a collaboration with filmmaker Emma Dove and Aberdeen University Ecologists, is further proof of artistic evolution. The film muses peoples’ feeling of home, using a synthesis of images and sonic elements to challenge preconceived ideas about life on the Scottish Highland Black Isle. The outcome is an exploration of the complex interactions between nature, industry and culture.
In spite of the diversity of Lyken’s work, themes of mutation, metamorphosis and renewal make up constant, recognisable components of a portfolio, which includes musical and sound pieces, film, paintings and installations. Lyken is an artist who pinpoints contrasts everywhere and whose work, full of contradiction as it is, offers something for everyone. So take the opportunity, next time you are caught in the rain; experience art in a new way – experience Mark Lyken.
The Art of Teaching: MELANIE PAICE
After studying fine art at Central St Martins and De Montfort University, Melanie Paice went on to work for the Tate Gallery (Modern and Britain), where she managed a course programme before becoming freelance to work on projects with organisations such as Frieze Art Fair. She currently lives and works in Woking, Surrey, giving classes at the Lightbox Gallery among other venues in the surrounding area, whilst still producing her own work for commission.
I feel that my own art practice has improved a great deal since teaching. The fact that through teaching, you’re learning other peoples work constantly and finding a way of helping them to correct mistakes in their work means that my own observational skills have improved greatly. It’s just a constant thing that you do when teaching. There are some tutors particularly in adult education that will come to the front of the class, demonstrate something and then ask the class to copy what they do. I don’t work like that. I prefer people to think a bit about what they want to make so that they have further interest in what they are doing rather than just following what the teacher says. I encourage them to come up with their own ideas. My own practice has improved because of all that.
With lecturing, I find that researching about other people’s work and teaching about artists that interest me quite often mean that I go into a lot of detail about the art history of it all so the approach in my lectures is more about looking into the art historical details, but it certainly helps my own work progress.
Abstract is really what I consider to be ‘my thing’. It’s what I like doing but abstract doesn’t really sell that well in Surrey, so I tend to do more figurative work. Although I prefer abstract work, I do certainly have a love of plants and flowers as my parents were landscape gardeners, so I still enjoy working that way.
I love the work of Andy Goldsworthy. He is a sculptor who works with natural materials and uses only natural processes to bind the elements together. When I lecture on him I put his work under ‘land art’ because he is more than just a sculptor. His work is very transient and he takes a lot of photos of his work so that the photograph becomes the piece of art in the end. When I was around nine years old, the artist that really made me want to get into the art world was Chagall and in particular his painting, ‘The Cattle Dealer’, where the foal is in the womb of the horse. It fascinated me that an artist could show you what you knew was there, but that you couldn’t actually see. In some ways, I feel like this is similar to what I do when I teach.
I love teaching art because I love working with people and I wanted to share my love of art. To be able to make people feel what I feel when I paint is a wonderful experience. My approach is that it should be a sociable environment when I teach because then the students are more relaxed and open to learn. I prefer working with a very small class where there is more interaction and discussion about the work. It’s a much more pleasurable experience than lecturing at people. Teaching brings a lot more back into my own work.
I love working in the negative like when I do my slate drawings. I love bringing the light onto a black surface. There is an element of it being less of a blank canvas as you have something to work against. I love working that way but when I try and teach it’s surprising how hard beginners find it until they start really looking at light that way. The exhibition I did last year included a load of sculptural bees, which I created out of smashed light bulbs and so light is very important to me in that way, bringing old things into the light. The exhibition was actually called ‘Trash to Treasure’ as I was working on turning old materials into new pieces of art.
For me, creativity is the closest thing to spirituality. When something is really working in a painting or a sculpture, there is an amazing feeling that is almost spiritual. If I haven’t made artwork in a while, there is a frustration where I feel I need to make something. If people revaluated what ‘success’ was in our world and it wasn’t just about money and becoming known but more if you were happy and how you would be viewed by other people, I think people would be a lot happier.
ALEX CRAIG
Stylistic and bold, Craig’s work exposes a world that is gritty and paranoid.
The imagery present in his art suggests an inner struggle to find a place in civilised society, with lone figures standing at a crossroads between salvation and destruction. His art seems to convey a desperate communication with the viewer, urging them to witness the fragile world we live in and the chaos under the surface. With his striking use of vibrant imagery, his work appears to evoke print advertisement, drawing the viewer into the fantasy presented to us and posing questions about the world we live in. Figures present in the work either blend into the background, becoming a part of the landscape itself — perhaps a message about our fragile connection to the environment — or stand out against a few simple ‘Pop Art’ colours.
It is often the colour itself that drives a piece, with our attention drawn to contrasting colours that help to set the tone of the work. In this way, Craig directs the viewer’s gaze, allowing the eye to rest momentarily on key components, highlighting central themes. These combine motifs of religion, violence, and exploitation, sometimes juxtaposed with delicate patterns and intricate line work.
Overall, Craig has produced a body of work that comments on society and seeks to question our relationship to the world around us, with his strong use of popular iconography combined with otherworldly, often mythical figures in a variety of situations.