SOS is a new body of work from Australian artist, Dscreet. The well-toured owl lover previously painted extensively in London, as part of the infamous Burning candy Crew, a collective that included artists such as Cept, Pegs, Sweet Toof, Cyclops, Tek33, and occasionally SickBoy. Now repatriated in his home country and forced to spend hours alone during Melbourne’s draconian lockdown, drunkenly trawling Tinder, Dscreet finally put down his phone and picked up a paintbrush, putting the many bottles of booze he’d drained to better use. This is the result.
SOS – Dscreet
‘I spent a lot of time in isolation walking around alone, first depressed, then I found a way to
look at things differently.’
‘The world was upside down so it was time to discover new places to keep my mind
occupied. To find new uses for the detritus in my brain and on the streets. This city became
a strange jail with one hour of outdoor time to breathe, no painting and no surfing allowed,
few outlets for anyone like me who funnels freedom into my art. I felt like we were all
sharing a special kind of crazy. At first I began to go a little insane, listening to the media,
trying to make sense of it all, trying to deny my relative misery, but there were a lot of
conflicting stories coming out, no-one really knew what was going on. I meditated, did
yoga, breathwork, exercise and then drank a lot of alcohol. I felt the same conflicting story
in myself, trying to stay healthy and positive then destroying the good work with the polar
opposite force. Somehow a balance evolved, staring into the empty bottles, I decided to
put them to good use and decorate them with the profound lyrics of those who have been
drunk and isolated before me, after all, many of us creative types spend even the most
normal times in isolation, sometimes confused and conflicted. Sometimes there’s those
moments of clarity at the end of a cycle.’
‘In memoriam to my personal journey, through the schizophrenic stasis of the world, each
of these painted bottles represents a piece of my creative therapy and struggle through
lockdown. The other pieces represent found objects and prose I’ve salvaged from personal
hikes through the streets and wilderness and songlists. The surfboard is a monument to
those opposing forces that keep clashing in the media and in our minds, ready to flow
backwards or forwards, I reached an acceptance that nothing can be taken for granted
anymore and nothing is absolute. I’m happy to be sober and surfing and painting again.’
– DSCREET
View the full catalogue here.
COLLECTOR ENQUIRIES: [email protected]
@backwoods.gallery
@dscreetsheet
SOS – Dscreet
Source: Exhibition - streetartnews.net
