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Tattooist and artist Scott Campbell‘s latest solo show “Things Get Better” is the main attraction at the OHHOW Gallery in Los Angeles. Campbell’s latest ink paintings focus on “Frankenguns,” the handmade tattoo guns built by prison inmates. The culmination of two years of research involving trips inside Mexican prisons to learn about these machines, Campbell’s latest project is a true labor of love for the artist. “Things Get Better” will be on show at OHWOW from May 23 to June 22.
While working on a project in Mexico City several years ago, which involved documenting aspects of prison tattoo culture, Campbell discovered an array of devices, imaginatively pieced together by inmates. Using a motley combination of items, they had recreated specific mechanisms by appropriating materials that were readily accessible, such as electric razors, guitar strings, and toothbrushes. These reinventions replaced equipment otherwise unavailable to them, exemplifying perseverance over restrictions.
Motivated by this experience – how limitations can engender creative thinking – Campbell conceived his own adaptations of similar mark-making instruments, depicted in this series of paintings. Rather than fabricating “tools” for practical use, he arranged them as studies, imaging ingenuity as an art form. In doing so, this work synthesizes artistic method and invention, visually conveying the science of problem solving as an aesthetic process. Through his plain use of black ink, along with a definitively applied brush technique, Campbell creates work that accurately reproduces his subjects, while also capturing its true essence. This laborious and unforgiving artistic practice requires focus – once a stroke is painted, it cannot not be changed, hidden, or erased.
Things Get Better reiterates the optimism of ingenuity and the idea that parameters can inspire creative solutions. In turn, Campbell applies a limit to his own practice, finding a freedom in boundaries. As the artist explains: “The openness of everything can be paralyzing, and it is human nature to look for walls and barriers to push against. Walls help us to know where we are, and what we have; once recognized, we can then begin our work of flourishing and creating within them.”
Credits: hypebeast.com
OHWOW Gallery
937 La Cienega Blvd,
West Hollywood, CA 90069
United States
-via oh-how.com. We also recommend the following interview: http://lifeandtimes.com/interview-artist-scott-campbell-speaks-on-his-new-exhibit-things-get-better
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