ARTIST STATEMENT
"I paint cyber surrealist worlds inspired by dreams and nightmares.
Since I was a child, I always had a fascination with dreams and nightmares. The very concept was, and still is of great interest to me. The idea of an alternate reality or an alternate world existing behind a thin veil of slumber was something that always gnawed at me when I was a child.
I have been visually creative for as long as I can remember. As a child, I would spend my time doodling up comic books, monsters and make believe worlds. All the while, my dreams and nightmares would play out in the background with their disjointed and bizarre narratives, adding a vague layer of strangeness to my otherwise isolated childhood.
Since I was a child, I always had a fascination with dreams and nightmares. The very concept was, and still is of great interest to me. The idea of an alternate reality or an alternate world existing behind a thin veil of slumber was something that always gnawed at me when I was a child.
I have been visually creative for as long as I can remember. As a child, I would spend my time doodling up comic books, monsters and make believe worlds. All the while, my dreams and nightmares would play out in the background with their disjointed and bizarre narratives, adding a vague layer of strangeness to my otherwise isolated childhood.
"Vidsion Korzian 2"
As I entered adulthood, I took my creative habits with me into academia. It was whilst I was in higher education, that I made the decision to dedicate my life to pursuing Fine Art as a career, specialising in oil painting. Whilst this was a positive turning point of my life, it was then I began to notice the world around me start to mutate.
The world is far more dystopian now than it ever was when I was a child. Surveillance is everywhere, individuality is fusing into a digital collective, and once held virtues such as competence, truth and dignity are now replaced with pseudo morality and benevolence.
This mutation of the world appears to have arrived on the wave of digital technology.
With the creation of the internet, a new world has slowly begun to emerge within a digital space, and it is this world, this alternate reality, that is gradually taking precedence over the former one. A waking nightmare.
Society has been caught in a digitized dream.
The latest advancement of digital technology, is of course, AI.
Artificial Intelligence is set to take over this digital dream and mutate our world further. Even at this early stage of AI, humans are already unsure as to what is real and what is fake, what is reality and what is a dream. The veil of slumber is tearing, and a digitized nightmare is beginning to reveal its vengeful eye.
Viewers of my work have noted the technology/digital themes that are becoming ever more present. I have been labelled a Cyber Surrealist by one reviewer of my work, whilst others have likened my paintings to that of online cursed images.
These particular observations are very useful to me, as they are illuminating descriptions that resonate with me.
Cyber Surrealism aims to explore the subconscious world of dreams and nightmares in an age where the digital realm is replacing the human soul.
In recent years, my paintings have developed a more haunted and somewhat more cinematic aesthetic. As I continue to grow and learn as an artist, feelings of anxiety and euphoria are increasingly more prevalent.
Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch, Zdzisław Beksiński, H.R. Giger and Francisco Goya, my goal as an artist is to document the mutation of my world as I see it: A digitized nightmare."
The world is far more dystopian now than it ever was when I was a child. Surveillance is everywhere, individuality is fusing into a digital collective, and once held virtues such as competence, truth and dignity are now replaced with pseudo morality and benevolence.
This mutation of the world appears to have arrived on the wave of digital technology.
With the creation of the internet, a new world has slowly begun to emerge within a digital space, and it is this world, this alternate reality, that is gradually taking precedence over the former one. A waking nightmare.
Society has been caught in a digitized dream.
The latest advancement of digital technology, is of course, AI.
Artificial Intelligence is set to take over this digital dream and mutate our world further. Even at this early stage of AI, humans are already unsure as to what is real and what is fake, what is reality and what is a dream. The veil of slumber is tearing, and a digitized nightmare is beginning to reveal its vengeful eye.
Viewers of my work have noted the technology/digital themes that are becoming ever more present. I have been labelled a Cyber Surrealist by one reviewer of my work, whilst others have likened my paintings to that of online cursed images.
These particular observations are very useful to me, as they are illuminating descriptions that resonate with me.
Cyber Surrealism aims to explore the subconscious world of dreams and nightmares in an age where the digital realm is replacing the human soul.
In recent years, my paintings have developed a more haunted and somewhat more cinematic aesthetic. As I continue to grow and learn as an artist, feelings of anxiety and euphoria are increasingly more prevalent.
Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch, Zdzisław Beksiński, H.R. Giger and Francisco Goya, my goal as an artist is to document the mutation of my world as I see it: A digitized nightmare."
"Outside the Ruins of Corlyone"
BIOGRAPHY
Michael Tucker was born in St Albans in 1989. Growing up in the UK, he went on to study Visual Arts at Coleg Harlech in 2010, where he acquired a Foundation diploma. From there, Tucker attended Aberystwyth University where he studied and practiced Fine Art, earning a Bachelor's degree in 2014 and a Master's degree in 2020. During this time, Tucker successfully exhibited his artwork in Harlech, Aberystwyth and London. In 2019, Tucker was featured on national television, where he participated in "Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2019".
EDUCATION:
Aberystwyth University (MA) 2018 - 2020
Aberystwyth University (BA) 2011 - 2014
Coleg Harlech (Foundation) 2010 - 2011
EXHIBITIONS/AWARDS:
"Spring Back" Exhibition, The Nude Tin Can Gallery, St Albans - 2021
Aberystwyth School of Art September Exhibition (Online Exhibit) - 2020
The Nude Tin Can Gallery, St Albans (Online Exhibit) - 2020
Aberystwyth School of Art Postgraduate Degree Show (Online Exhibit) - 2020
Featured on "Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2019".
The Wallace Collection, London - May 2018
Aberystwyth School of Art Undergraduate Degree Show - 2014
Aberystwyth School of Art Winter Exhibition - 2013
Aberystwyth School of Art Winter Exhibition - 2012
Coleg Harlech Summer Exhibition - 2011
EDUCATION:
Aberystwyth University (MA) 2018 - 2020
Aberystwyth University (BA) 2011 - 2014
Coleg Harlech (Foundation) 2010 - 2011
EXHIBITIONS/AWARDS:
"Spring Back" Exhibition, The Nude Tin Can Gallery, St Albans - 2021
Aberystwyth School of Art September Exhibition (Online Exhibit) - 2020
The Nude Tin Can Gallery, St Albans (Online Exhibit) - 2020
Aberystwyth School of Art Postgraduate Degree Show (Online Exhibit) - 2020
Featured on "Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2019".
The Wallace Collection, London - May 2018
Aberystwyth School of Art Undergraduate Degree Show - 2014
Aberystwyth School of Art Winter Exhibition - 2013
Aberystwyth School of Art Winter Exhibition - 2012
Coleg Harlech Summer Exhibition - 2011