WHO was violently home invaded by unbeknown persons in May 2001.This event has been the driving force of WHO's body of artistic development since 2002. WHO has been a tireless advocate for others who have had suffered similar acts of violence acts by friend's, family or unknown persons.
His work was a major part of a thesis on OUTSIDER ART by Dr Karleen Gwinner in 2008/. This paper is now accepted as one of the Worlds leading paper's on OUTSIDER ART in Australia and beyond.
WHO has been exhibiting his ground breaking work since 2002 and his work is collected by serious collectors of OUTSIDER ART Worldwide. WHO's work is in private, corporate and public collections throughout Australia, U.S.A Singapore, England, South Africa, Spain and Thailand.
WHO with long time collaborator Febe Zylstra had a major exhibition supported by the Australian government and The Australian Consular General in Chicago in 2010. This exhibition was the first of its kind and was hailed as a major success.
WHO's work has been critiqued as thought provoking, shocking, truthful, beautiful, and even ugly.
Through WHO's interdisciplinary approach encompassing painting , collage and sculptural forms, WHO's work's explode with a figurative disposition that is targeted towards his attackers who have driven WHO's work to evolve. Comic relief is engaged to query these serious issues that face many of us and his work is now considered of major currant relevance.
WHO grew up on the urban fringe of the Gold coast and Brisbane in the 1960's. The architectural modernism of his childhood featured economical use of space, lack of ornamentation, utilisation of new materials and techniques and above all design simplicity. These elements rebound in WHO'S work today and his work is considered as a serious ART PRACTICE OF OUTSIDER ART. ( ART BRUT )
What is stimulating is that when examine WHO's work you are hauled kicking and screaming into a World of incongruous feelings, images and confidence.
WHO after 2011 embarked on private works helping and advocating for those who have had suffered similar acts of violence. WHO's latest 2016/ series of works are brusque, provocative, political and are a way of communicating that is direct and clear and that is easily understood by the age of social media users.
Compelling political ideas of hope seamlessly merge in a visual outburst that challenges the audiences expectations.
Welcome to the World of WHO
