Me
My names Paul Barugh and I’m a young amateur artist currently studying at Leeds Met.
In the past year my understanding of art has improved through reading material and exposure to contemporary artists. I realised that knowledge of other artists and their practices can only benefit me, an opinion I did not share a year ago.
This year’s main goal has been to create work which has a social significance, something that everyone can relate to in some way or that everyone has an opinion on.
It was difficult finding ideas which were interesting and socially relevant, while having not already been done to death.
I started the year painting ‘Child of our time’ and I didn’t respond well to criticism received at the time. Looking back I think the criticism was correct, my work had no reason behind it and was nothing more than a doodle, fun but pointless.
I’ve always wanted to engage people, to snap them out of the trance we all seem to fall into, to give my work a social impact.
Along with trying to clarify my works meaning I’ve also been experimenting with different media, I’ve tried my hand at painting, printing; I’ve also used photography and created a 3D image effect.
My main problem is over-thinking my work and it’s something that I must work on after repeatedly being told to just let the work flow a little more. I’m now looking to work increasingly with digital media, using the imagery as a powerful tool to probe political, social and historical questions. By far the biggest influence on my work this year has been the discovery of key artists that I relate to. I’ve focused on urban and street art, looking at artists such as Antony Micallef and Candice Tripp. They engage the viewer visually and emotionally by commenting on communal experience, while still finding space for jarring humour.
Looking at ‘The Getaway’ I’d say it’s easy to see where I’ve been influenced. I’ve tried to merge a collective anxiety of our fear of a big brother society while trying to add a little humour in the mix as well. Although my ambition with art is grandiose it’s still attainable, they say that knowledge is power and if that’s true then I imagine my work with evolve with the more I know and see.
