ARTIST STATEMENT
I have become interested
in how people respond to ‘atmospherics’ – the weather,
natural & self-made atmospheres (chemicals, corrosives, making fire/smoke,
steam, etc….etc… and how we might react to these atmospheres…
How we behave…
And how that manifests physically, ie: our postures, actions, etc..
How do we represent ourselves in a rainstorm, or a riot, in clouds, or
watching fireworks?
Our natural movements. What are they? Self-conscious movement, awkwardness…
The people who inhabit the paintings are not anybody in particular; they
are not individuals I know as friends or acquaintances. They are from
‘found’ photos – newspapers, postcards, books et al.
Some I will invent from memory or make up on the spot. They all naturally
change throughout the pictures progress anyway – and become something
or somebody new.
Grouping them in certain arrangements defines their relationship with
one another in a half-invented world. Subtle extremity – something
is going down but we are not quite sure what.
We may recognise the ‘atmosphere’ but I want there to be questions.
Perhaps whatever is really occurring is unseen to a point. Strangeness
is a relative to mystery, and in an ever expanding mass culture, mystery
is getting harder to come by.
-Darren Porter 2010
SOLO
EXHIBITIONS
2009 Jackman Gallery, Melbourne
2007 Jackman Gallery, Melbourne
2005 Mind and Counter Mind, Brightspace Gallery, Melbourne
2000 The Eraser Triangle, Flying Rhino, London
1996 Sound-giant, RMIT Gallery, Tolarno’s, St Kilda, Melbourne
SELECTED GROUP
SHOWS
2007 6 Degree Prize, Frankston Arts Centre
2004 I-Candy, North Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne
1999 Forged Eclipse, TIP, London
1998 Blank Fever, Who’s What, Oslo, Norway
1997 Five Quiet Years, St Kilda Town Hall, Melbourne
1996 Re-productions, RMIT Gallery, Tolarno’s, St Kilda, Melbourne
1995 Ink Splashes, Tattoo Pete’s, Amsterdam
1994 Little People, Fiona James, London
1990 Gippsland Art Prize
1989 The Brush and the Hammer, Spoleto Fringe Gallery, Fitzroy
AWARDS
2009 Finalist - Country Energy Art Prize
2006 Monash University, Board of Examiners Commendation
2005 Monash University, Postgraduate Academic Merit Scholarship
2002 Australia Council for the Arts, New Work Development Grant
1999 Artist in Residence, Flying Rhino Studio, London
1990 Gippsland Art Prize, Local Environments Award
1988 National Gallery Society Award
1986 George Hicks Award
COLLECTIONS
London Royal Academy of Arts
Oslo Academy
Burton Collection (U.K.)
City of Port Phillip, Melbourne
Private Collections – Australia, Europe, India, U.S.A
PEOPLE, LOOKING
STOPOVER BLINKS
UNTITLED RIOT
THE LORD IS A MONKEY
THE RABBIT & THE ESKIMO (EXPOSE THE WORLD!)
site design by Breakstuff
®