Joel Chan

 

 

"I specialize in kinetic sculpture and drawing, working with found objects ranging from discarded mechanical components to charity shop ceramics. Each object has its own history, its own story, its own tale to be told, or rather, an untold story, a silent history, and a tale that’s maybe now irrelevant. If objects could speak what secret histories would they reveal? What have they seen?

My work consciously aims to confront contemporary issues and questions the boundaries of the human-being. The work often plays on the boundary between the real and the fictional, recycling second-hand objects, materials, and images, and employing their authentic mysterious pasts, to create artificial histories and pseudo-artifacts that present fabricated stories and an alternative history. I aim to express though my work the complexities of human thought and the basic foundations of human emotion, exploring binaries like life and death, love and hate, comfort and discomfort.

Whilst exploring serious and thought-provoking themes the work involves an element of dark humor. Finding a balance between light heart-hearted playfulness and the significant gravity of the conversation is essential in encouraging an active, mental and physical interaction from audiences. In turn, this interaction aims to create an emotional collaboration between the artist and the audience."

 

For further work see: www.joelchan.co.uk