MONSTER COMICS SURREAL INK DRAWINGS 2002
FLIES HOLES AND ROACHES SURREAL CREATURESHEY APATHY! MONSTER COMICS, INK DRAWINGS AND MURALS! Strange humanoids roam the metropolis, eating insects, laughing angrily, and perpetually compelled by distraction. “FLIES, HOLES, & ROACHES” inhabit the city. Not unlike the previous dark “MONSTER” visions ( MONSTER COMICS CHAPTER 2 ),these creatures reveal themselves as horrific, animalistic, and emotionally driven beings. The telepathic entities which rule the unspoken conversation, have taken on physical forms, and the Roach Monsters stomp a predetermined march to the rhythm of the streets. The “ROACH” drawings link the non-verbal dialogue of the crowds, examined in the previous artworks, to the actual physicality of the absurdly urban humanoid constituents. The characters are virtually hopeless and appear to be burnt around their eyes and mouths. Questioning the potential for individuality in a world of mass production, the “FLIES, HOLES, & ROACHES” monster comics offer a relentlessly terrifying take on the most common and trivial of activities. THE PARABLE Bizarre bubble people busy about wearing blackened orifices as they attempt to contradict an all encompassing despair by means of socially mechanical distractions. Dept, shopping, malaise, and video screens engulf the humanoids as they move hypnotically through time, fuelling the city, and losing themselves amidst the chaos. The Roach drawings begin to examine the individual , as opposed to the collective illusions ( HEY APATHY! & THE APOCALPYSE 2001) and insentient truths (MONSTERS 2002) of the previous investigations, as each character, although similar in appearance, expresses a unique life-force trapped beneath the constraints of sociological conformity. The primary aspiration of these monster comics and surreal ink drawings was to draw connections between the unspoken language of the psyche and the physicality of the individual experience. THE STORY SO FAR … “FLIES, HOLES, & ROACHES”, is the third monster comics drawing series in the 13 chapter “HEY APATHY!” mythology. The initial series introduces the metropolis as a giant gear propelled by insurmountable crowds of faceless denizens. Apocalyptic premonitions repeatedly replace the grave-like landscape. Amidst the conformity, single, silent, psychic screams present themselves as the “MONSTERS”. Here messengers of fear call the viewer in for a closer examination of the collective unconscious, an ink stained representation of the non-verbal conversation. In series three, “FLIES HOLES & ROACHES”, the individuals begin to identify themselves. The first figurative exploration in the storyline depicts all sorts of semi-conformed humanoids, pestered by flies as they watch Television and drink coffee. In each of the subsequent series both the artworks and artist continue to delve deeper into the mystery in an attempt to identify the true nature of the city. As well as bringing the viewer conceptually closer to the inhabitants of the cityscapes, these ink drawings were developed in such a manner that permitted new levels of achievement and discourse through various methods of public presentation. ARTIST’S PROCESS As more time was spent investigating the city and it’s constituents, each of my new artworks became unconsciously intimate and progressively public. The “Roach” drawings were developed as a sequel to the ambidextrous “MONSTERS” scribbles and expanded on several of the process’ I had initiated through the previous exploration (MONSTERS 2002). Inspired by the simplicity and increasingly accessible techniques used to create the surreal “MONSTERS”, I organized a new artistic process capable of producing monster comics on a mass scale and specifically designed for presentation in the public forum. THE THEME The theme of the “ROACH” monster comics and ink drawings was once again inspired by my increasingly physical investigation of the big city. Spending most of my time downtown, I discovered an underlying stress and a general distaste for the motions and notions which people so free succumb. Despite at business of determination, it appeared as though some sort of contradictory frenzy disengaged the denizens from the money making and frivolous past-times. The “FLIES, HOLES, & ROACHES” attempt to express this state of “dissatisfaction” , exposing the unconscious self through physical manifestations. In essence the ink drawings combine both the conceptual and technical facets found in the faceless bubble people of “HEY APATHY!“(2001) with the telepathic communications described in the “MONSTER”(2002) drawings. The result being a frightening deviation , but not an amputation, from the illusionary and conformist masses. Each monster comics portrait expresses the terrifying particularity of the individual, lost amidst a uniform existence, simultaneously unable to partake in or resist rebellion. THE SYMBOLS The symbols explored in the “ROACH” ink drawings were comprised of two simple hieroglyphics developed in my earlier artworks. Using the bubble-people drawings from “HEY APATHY!” and the psychic scribbles expressed in the " MONSTERS ”, I created the “ROACH” aesthetic describing both the illusion of conformity in an over populated existence and the expressive nature of the individual experience. The alliance of the two monster comics symbols and thematic explorations flourished as an all new representation of the crowds. The creatures. bizarre humanoids became synchronously representative of the homogenised masses and of the solitary and introspective desires of the self. For each of my monster comics experiments a limited number of symbols is chosen as the vocabulary, this limitation helps maintain concentration and allows me to explore each specific theme to the fullest extent. DRAWING MONSTERS TECHNIQUES Similar to the amalgamation of previous concepts and symbols developed throughout the first two chapters of the myth ( HEY APATHY! 2001 & MONSTERS 2002), I also combined two contradictory drawing processes to create the “FLIES HOLES & ROACHES” ink drawings. The first series, depicting a never ending sea of faceless denizens moving through a dark metropolis like cogs in a machine, was painstakingly and meticulously crafted utilizing precise and repetitious pen strokes referencing classical animation. The second artistic venture, an expression of unspoken communications and monstrous investigation of the psyche, was created using an ambidextrous “drawing association test” consisting of multiple rapid ink studies created entirely with my untrained left appendage. For the third series of monster drawings, “FLIES, HOLES & ROACHES”, I created the cartoon-like character’s outline with my right hand and the blackened facial expressions with my left. Using only a hand-made bamboo quill pen, the new technique resulted in a symbiosis of the two previous series, allowing me to create clean, controlled, images at a pace rivalling that of my rapid association test scribbles. AMBIDEXTROUS ARTWORKS All of the “FLIES, HOLES, & ROACHES” ink drawings were created ambidextrously. The bubble person figures were drawn with my trained right hand, while the horrific eyes and teeth of the creatures were done with my left. This unique process combined my quick, clean, cartoon figures, with the sporadic and expressive nature of my left handed experiments. The two handed techniques allowed for controlled narratives, simultaneous with experimental drawing practices. The ultimate achievement of the investigation was a new drawing process that permitted me to produce controlled images, at an pace suitable for both animation, comics narrations, and renegade public displays. SMALL ARTWORKS: DEVELOPING A LANGUAGE The most noteworthy additions to the “HEY APATHY!” symbolic vocabulary developed throughout the “ROACH” ink drawings, was the expressions of human characteristics. For the first time in the monster comics investigation, the figurative images begin to take on personalities. The initial bubble people were lost in anonymity, (HEY APATHY! 2001), and the “MONSTERS” represented a collective unconscious, while the “ROACHES” frighteningly partake in daily routines and can be seen riding the subway, drinking coffee, and cleaning the dangerous kitchen. The “ROACHES”, although questionably unidentifiable as such, most resemble the intimacy of actual human beings when compared to the earlier monster comics ink drawings. SPEED DRAWING Through out my second artistic investigation, “MONSTERS” 2002, I practiced ink drawing at a rapid pace. Using my left hand and time limited studies, I created random and expressive creatures in search of unconscious symbolism. During the production of the “FLIES,HOLES,& ROACHES” ink drawings, I continued to work at a furious speed. However in this case, the pace of the studies was determined for technical purposes rather than expressive. In order to produce a vast amount photocopy paste-ups, I used the simplistic designs and regimented production schedule. Rather than searching for new imagery, I resigned to making vast quantities of similar artworks in order to bombard the city with “ROACH” creature paste ups. I made a few hundred different characters and posted photocopies around the Ontario College of Art & Design, but the paste-ups never actually made it to the streets. Instead ,excited by the speed at which I could produce these images, I proceeded to develop a short monster comic and a number of animated cartoons.
After completing a few hundred of small “ROACH” ink drawings, I decided to create three short oneiric misadventures explaining the creatures. The "DOWN" surreal art comics included "Eat" a short nightmare about dinner table routines and rituals, "DOWN" a post-apocalyptic tale taking place within a hospital of horror, and "A Story about Flies, Holes & Roaches" a 28 page dream-sequence regarding young man trapped in a seemingly endless line up. As the protagonist proceeds to spit flies and hold up the proceedings, another member of the crowd politely pushes him forward. The line moves forward again and all the individual humanoids begin to vanish and by a terrifying congregation of flies, holes, and roaches. 150 photocopy publications were printed of each fable and distributed at the T.O.A.E. in the summer of 2002. I was lucky to find one of these copies ( I don’t know what happened to the originals?) and have since restored and catalogued the story in the online comics section of this website. The "DOWN" anthology was made around the same time I produced my first full length graphic novel "THE LAST OPTIMIST" and many similar themes and characters continue to re-appear in the ongoing "HEY APATHY!" comic book series. ANIMATIONS The technical process used to create the “ROACH” ink drawings was ideal for adaptation as a series of short animations. I made approximately 3 minutes of classically drawn “ROACH” cartoons, including one of my favourites, “It’s What’s Inside that Counts!”. In this particular cartoon a “ROACH” creature self inflicts a chest cavity autopsy revealing numerous strange and hypnotic organs to the audience. The animation process generally involved me sitting down, for hours on end, rapidly producing the outline of the figure, then starting at the beginning again, I would add the left-handed facial features. The animations also involve a series of overlapping loops, a technique that I started experimenting with in previous “MONSTERS” films. The shorts were all shot on 16 mm, using the Ontario College of Art & Design’s custom built animation facilities. STREET MURALS AND LARGE ARTWORKS At the same time that I was producing the animations at the Ontario College of Art & Design though out the day time, I started painting renegade “ROACH” murals on construction walls, and alleyways around Kensington Market, downtown Toronto. The processes developed for the monster comics transferred quickly and easily to larger scale artworks. This is of particular importance when the public art being created is unsanctioned. After a few nights of practice I ambitiously decided to attack the 150-200 x 10ft construction walls running along the back of Toronto’s Grange Park. The walls had been resurrected for the construction of O.C.A.D.‘s new Sharpe Center for Design, in the spring of 2002. It took me one entire night to prime the orange walls white, and a second entire night to complete the series of giant “ROACH” monsters eating flies, screaming primal, reciting obscenities and watching television.
SURREAL EXHIBITIONS The giant monster comics public ROACH mural , which ran the length of Toronto’s Grange Park, survived the entire construction period for the O.C.A.D. Sharpe Center for Design, 2002-2004. During that time the smaller artworks were exhibited at twice at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, an annual event held at Nathan Phillips square. The animations were never exhibited publicly as in my inexperience, the original 16mm film stock was underexposed and the entire set of cartoons came back from the processor in an indecipherable orange and yellow rather than black and white. The stills have since been restored and presented online and at various other Canadian art exhibitions including the Cambridge Galleries and the Definitely Superior Art Gallery.
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