“Much of my artistic practice shares some affinity with literary fiction, in that it attempts to fabricate worlds through observation, research and invention. It differs however by eschewing linear narrative in favour of poetic cross-reference through often conflicting juxtapositions of material, image and technique.”
“For several years I embarked on a series of very large, highly detailed drawings on flooring-vinyl, which charted a perpetually expanding fictional universe – the genesis of which was a journey through eastern and central Europe, following a route my grandmother had made in 1913, travelling from Romania to England. I have since produced a body of work, which not only includes drawing and painting, but also monumental posters, sculptural billboards, both digital and hand-made collage and most recently, animated slideshows, model-making and large-scale sculptural installation.
One underlying theme of this work considers the legacy of modern history by viewing human relationships with the landscape, the constructed world and one-another from oblique cultural and historical perspectives. My work has repeatedly engaged with the legacy of the Enlightenment and its fragile relationship to the world we now inhabit, with a strong reference to traditions of absurdism and the visual languages of early modernism.
My re-engagement with this material is not out of nostalgia, but rather to gauge the impact that these languages might have now in the contemporary world, and to create juxtapositions that spark unconventional perspectives. The work also attempts to explore the emotive spaces that exist between tragedy and comedy, considering our shared histories and future with a measured mixture of poignancy and humour.”
Stephen Brandes was born in Wolverhampton, UK in 1966 and has lived and worked in Ireland since 1993. In 2005 he co-represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale and continues to exhibit nationally and internationally. He is also one third of the irreverent art/food group The Domestic Godless.
