Alan's Work
Outsider Art is often marked by a constant returning to the same motifs and an intense elaboration of them .this is what gives it the feel of being driven by some invisible compulsion. Often faces and figures are embedded in, or emerge from a matrix of indeterminate forms and textures; this describes Alan’s work well, he is obsessional, and his work constantly re-visits two themes: The Sea and Creatures/Animals. His inspiration comes from the trips to the sea front at South End on Sea. His experience of and exposure to places is very limited, confined to the outings with his carers and his brother and sister. His appreciation of animals comes from familiarity with the pets of his carers and the resident cat. He also has an obsession with fish but strangely this doesn’t feature in his work, he seldom draws people. Alan’s animals are humanised through exaggerated hands and feet, the power of these wavers between the comically surreal and the portentously intimidating. His original work is complex and images are often completely obscured by the many other images drawn on top he often over-works or re-uses the paper many times over, not seeming to notice the images that already exist. Alan’s Art has a naive unspoilt quality seldom seen in the art of the mainstream and should be accessible to a wider audience to be enjoyed and appreciated in a generic sense. Due to Alan’s methods of working it is sometimes necessary to transcribe some images, isolating them from the general complexity of the whole composition. This involves carefully extracting them by a process of tracing through onto acetate sheets. Then transferring them onto screens or onto lino Alan’s animals have been isolated in this way for reproduction purposes but the Sea images are basically unchanged from Alan’s originals.
Alan’s work is made accessible through collaboration with his sister, whose role is to transcribe, arrange and document Alan’s Art.
Gallery
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