Nic Dartnell: An Exploration of Liberation, Absurdity and Energy
With his leather jacket, shades and cruiser motorcycle, painter/photographer Nic Dartnell is as comfortable with the rock and roll scene as he is with the visual arts community. It might seem fitting then that Nic’s first commercial success came when he created the cover art for the 1970 album of legendary supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
“I was 18 years old, working in a record shop in Edinburgh. At that time in my life, my major passions were painting and rock music, so I sent off the artwork to Island records. I didn’t know who ELP were, but apparently they liked it and it became the bird image on their debut album.”
Nic was born in Northampton, spent his childhood in Malaysia and lived in Hackney, London, before moving to south Bristol in 2002. Throughout his career, he has been intrigued by images that encapsulate aspects of various cultures. In the early 1990s he produced a series of intricate images of individual African and Asian children, called Children of the Future. Later he made a series of five paintings for a book about Jimmy Hendrix. In pursuit of more traditional cultural icons, Nic became interested in the Navajo people and spent a lot of time travelling in North America to study the art of Navajo sand- paintings. His research culminated in the creation of a full sized sand-painting on the floor of the Grant Bradley Gallery in Bristol in 2008.
Nic’s most recent project has been a series of works examining the transformative powers of carnival. Using video footage to try to catch the essence of the Notting Hill Carnival, he has produced a series of lustrous works of art focusing on the visitors and performer at the vibrant street party.
In a departure from Nic’s detailed signature style, the images are made up of manipulated video stills transformed into oil paintings to create pictures that glow with life and a palpable sense of movement evoking the spirit of the carnival.
“I wanted to capture something about what draws people to an event like this, so I looked for images of people that reflected something about who they were and what they were feeling,” Nic says. “Carnival is all about liberation, absurdity and energy. It’s a chance to turn the world on its head, to revel in the sense of freedom and really celebrate the joy of life.”
Nic Dartnell’s Carnival exhibition will be shown at the Grant Bradley Gallery Number One St Peter's Court, Bedminster Parade, Bristol BS3 4AQ, from September 3rd-October 3rd 2009 – details at www.grantbradleygallery.co.uk
Judy Darley is a freelance writer and editor based in Bristol. She is the founder and editor of EssentialWriters.com, a website for writers, by writers.
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