Home

Talks

Ashley Bickerton: ‘Looking for Something Beyond’

Ashley Bickerton: ‘Looking for Something Beyond’

Contemporary artist Ashley Bickerton lived a nomadic childhood, his family moving countries regularly for his father's research into Creole and Pidgin languages. Feeling a need to once again 'recontextualise myself' after a childhood travelling, Bickerton moved from New York, the 'crucible' of his art life, to Bali mid-career. He describes how this unique environment seeped into his practice and the implications of his move– not least in that 'once you run off to a bloody island to make art', the nineteenth century figure of Paul Gauguin becomes an inevitable art historical comparison to address. How does his series of 'intentionally silly' paintings, depicting a blue-skinned European antihero against tropical backdrops, critique the legacy of Gauguin?

Time Period:

21st century