Two artists explore mark making in the basic form, James Fearon ( MA Royal college of Art) .
James Fearon Fuck heads series(2003) below Stevan cook Sribbles series (2004)
INTERVIEW OF JAMES FEARON BY JOHN OWEN
John What it all about James? Where have you been and what have you been doing? James: I have exhibited around the world and had about fifty odd shows since 1984. Liverpool is a port city, a lot like Belfast. The people, the taking the views, the speaking out of the side of the mouth and all that. The reference to masks comes from a Bob Dylan song, ‘Masks’. Masks signify anonymity that I wanted to have in this Big Brother era. The idea of keeping your individuality at the same time of exhibiting bearing your soul. You can hide when you have low self esteem behind a mask and they become existential mask of being. ‘Fuck Heads’, a series of work, can be described as childish or very silly and yet they offer genius and simplicity at the same time. Throwing you into a spin trying to discover, the image inside the image. All of my past in Belfast is encompassed in those masks. The past is fusing with the present on these canvasses. A masquerade of life, like ballet dancers using coded language, expressed in eyes shifting away too and fro. Like Ancient Greek theatre, both happy and sad. Issues too sensitive to talk about, enacted through theatre, where stress is relieved artificially. I need to leave behind the masks to see who I am, the fusion of who I am and who is now the present person. Escapism is healthy. These pictures catalogue an attempt to lead a normal life. The cease fire meant everyone could have a normal life. Everyone has this right, because everyone is under scrutiny over there in Belfast. Everyone strived towards normality. What do you need to be a human being? And still seem to be human without being over exposed. Sometimes visual imagery is a healthy and liberating thing. John Do you enjoy painting now? James Like the Wizard of Oz, the man behind the curtain making the big head. Peoples heads are a Celtic thing. They believe the head is a box containing a spirit. Like Easter Island statues, tribal eulogy and harking back to early celebration rituals. The emotional impact is very strong. I trudge the road to normal living. No images to be copyed or
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