Kyle Hughes-Odgers is better known in Perth as Creepy, the popular street artist, renowned for his large scale murals and wall paintings.
These adorn the walls of the Norfolk Basement, the Condor Tower Carpark, the Northbridge Western Power building, Bar 399, and Juicebox Creative. His most recent commission is a whopping 40m, 7 panel mural for Murdoch University. You’ve probably also recently seen his work on the wooden hoardings surrounding new developments on William Street in Northbridge, and around the city in laneways, music festivals and on forgotten walls. His street work is not confined to Perth, this year he was very happy to discover that some street art he did in New York had been selected for Street Art New York, published by Prestel (Random House) in April 2010. Other travels and interactions with city walls include London, Barcelona, Berlin, Sydney and Melbourne.
Since 2005 Kyle has started exhibiting his distinctive paintings in galleries, both overseas and in Australia. This is his first major exhibition of paintings, there are over 100, and his first entirely done with a brush. His work has encompassed a variety of mediums, working on canvas, wood and paper using inks and paint, and of course aerosol for outdoor work. His palette consists of warm muted colours and earthy tones contrasted with pastel hues.
Kyle’s highly stylised thick torsoed, big-headed and spider-limbed figures exist in a unique folk tale world. This world exists without technology, but this does not stop the inhabitants from trying to solve problems and build things using wonky mechanics and producing structures that do not heal or help. Strange stilted buildings, often out of scale to their melancholy inhabitants, are connected to each other with lines. The lines represent communication, and the basic building forms represent the communities that inhabit them. Sparse plant forms appear in some works, and in most an exuberant patterning beautify the sometimes darkly humorous themes.
Whilst this exhibition continues with Kyle’s existing themes, new icons and ideas have appeared. The bottle, representing choices, memories and the things we collect along our life’s journey, have appeared. Chaos is a new theme, with people battling to keep control, things are falling apart and the fragile communities are under threat. Kyle noted that it is at this point that you really see the true nature of a person and their community.
Themes of journeys have always been important in Kyle’s narrative works, sometimes symbolised by ladders and boats. Other important notions include relationships, community spirit, and the attempt to communicate. Everyday themes of life and death, friendship, loneliness, survival, good vs evil, people and the environment, also imbue these works. In effect, an exhibition of Kyle’s paintings is also a visual mass story-telling event from a new culture full of new ceremonies, traditions and spiritual co-existence. Ideas for his work come from many different places such as overheard conversations, movies, books, discussions with friends, TV or odd quotes.
Kyle described his show stating: “In the last 12 months I have painted over 100 artworks on wood and 8 large works on canvas. I have continued to focus on ideas of life, death and survival shown through my interest in narrative, texture, folklore and handmade objects.”
His publication credits include Frankie, Street Art New York, Cut & Paste, Australian Edge, Sunday Times, The Age, Empty, King Brown, Relative and Wooden Toy magazine. He has also had street work featured on web sites such as Wooster Collective, WeAreTheImageMakers, and Ekosystem. Keep your eye out for his skateboard design coming out later this year with Folklore Skateboards.
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