NEW SENSATIONS 2012

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Steven Allan Born in United Kingdom. Lives in: London Royal College of Art I was born in Scotland and have spent the last 8 years living and painting in London. Much of my work has biographical references or layers of meaning gathered from the everyday imagery around me. My recent paintings have centered around humanized objects such as bananas, tea bags and paint tubes. It is through these anthropomorphic images that I am able to meld familiar objects into unfamiliar settings and ideas. Many of these works focus on a singular figure, which relates to both myself and the viewer; alone in a confusing and somehow tragic landscape, left to contemplate the futility of the situation.

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Work of art I would like to make If chosen as one of the few shortlisted for the New Sensations Prize, I hope to keep making impactful, lasting images that resonate with a new, much wider audience. The work that I would like to make would be a culmination of everything that I have worked towards in painting over the past 8 years. I want to continue to build upon the style I have created. It is hard to be specific about any one painting, as my process of working is a very spontaneous practice. l start with an idea or an image which always transforms into something else. That said, lately I have been working within the theme of the slot machine, also referred to as the ‘one armed bandit’. I find the way these machines are deceitfully dressed to look like works of art, to distract you from their main purpose – which is to rob you blind – incredibly fascinating. Their eye-catching qualities are no doubt essential to their success, and I think this theme in and of itself, but also as a metaphor for modern culture would be a rich subject to use in painting. Taking a basic theme and turning it on its head and giving it some new kind of intrigue is what really interests me in painting. I love to show the viewer something they recognize and then subvert their understanding of these images and scenarios to reveal something else entirely.

My Artworks (6) Click on the images to enlarge