STATEMENT: THE MEANING BEHIND HIS WORK.

21/10/09

MARK NEWTON

The Animal Within.
“We are animals that have learnt to behave”.

Through art, Mark is exploring the connections and separations between our primal mindset and the forms of sexual expression that exist in contemporary life. Who we are, the person that is presented to the outside world may be far removed from the person that lies within us.

“I think that it is generally accepted that there are two aspects to who we are: The outer person, the one that has learnt to co-exist through following rules, through moral judgements and understanding on how we should perform as a human in the complex structure of modern life. Then there is the other side to us all – the shadow self – the side of us which is a mindset born out of mental stimulation, thoughts, desires and passions in the search for self expression”.

Although Mark’s work is at times very graphical in expressing the sexual experience, it stops short of being pornographic. The primitive style to his approach dilutes the human aspects to the sexual theme. His art peels away our protective shell and asks us to question our own experiences, and the desires for sex we hold in our minds. The figures in his work are neither human nor animal, more a hybrid of the two, which strengthens his message that the human harbours an animal within.

“It has been a long time since we took those first steps away from the cave and evolved into the complex representation of the human species we are today, yet, the animal mindset that works and reacts to the instinct still walks around in our psyche. Whatever the reality of our sexual experience, the thoughts and desires for sexual gratification can be far stronger. I hope that my work allows the viewer to feel this primal level of sexual desire and become free from being human, relying on their animal instinct to question and explore the difference between what they feel and the sexual experiences they have had. Because we have learnt to behave within society, the subject, experience and the watching of sex through pornography may be limited, even to the extent that a person is timid, shy or harbours feelings of guilt around the subject of sex. I hope the viewer dares to look at their shadow-self, finds passion and desires that they have not experienced or felt, free from guilt. It would be great to know that someone felt sexually charged in front of one of my works and no one around them knew because it’s within their own mind, exploring and listening to their own personal animal within, free from the judgement of other humans.”

For Mark, the supports and materials he uses are not important but the process of investigating the attitudes to sex through art. Having no formal training within the arts has freed Mark from technique and allows him to investigate his own internal animal with a freedom of expression that is both dramatic and sexually charged, with a future uncharted by rules.

“I have no rules to how I paint and draw, so the future direction of my work has no limits. I use drawing and painting as the hand that turns the tap, to release the creative flow: Using instinct and the accident I put down random marks until I see within the chaos, body-forms that express the passion, energy and drama of the sexual arena. I don’t judge whether the physical reality of my art is technically good or bad but that I have in some way managed to convey a performance of sexual sensation that the viewer can experience free from guilt.”