Ben Risk’s work draws upon a wealth of sources; philosophy, poetry, film, travel and daily encounters – translating the unconscious thought and imagination into paintings. His highly personal, reimagined ‘scapes’ always reference the real world. The everyday imagery of streets, houses, trees, animals and people are configured into dreamlike spaces and environments inviting the viewer on a familiar but surreal adventure. Alongside the ‘scapes’ – sea, land or city, he has developed a series of ‘socio mythic’ characters which appear as a semi-fictional cast. Men in hats, people with animal-like features and semi-realistic heads, these all form part of an ongoing exploration.

Risk enjoys discovering new ways of working with materials - the marks on used book covers, for example, or the unstableness of used cloth and paint - which challenge and extend his visual thinking. It forces him to make decisions more quickly, to reduce the amount of information and still evoke a strong feeling or story and sense of place.

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