The Monster, by Eelus.
When new work by Brighton based artist Eelus dropped into my inbox I knew it was the perfect thing to share on Halloween. Horrorshow is his new body of work, currently showing at the Ink-d Gallery space in Brighton, and focuses on his obsession with horror movies. The artworks take inspiration from scenes and characters that will be familiar to both hardened horror film fans and heathens (such as myself), and are beautifully rendered in layers of gloriously coloured papers.
The Creature, by Eelus.
Why did you decide to focus on horror films for your new collection of work, currently on show at Ink_d gallery in Brighton?
I’ve always had a love of horror, ever since I was a really young kid. After deciding that I wanted to create a whole new body of work in this new style of layered paper that I’ve recently discovered, I wanted to ease some of the pressure by basing all the work on a subject that wouldn’t be too much of a stretch and that I’d really enjoy. It was purely coincidental that the exhibition was scheduled for October, so a horror based collection of work just in time for Halloween seemed perfect!
The Vampire, by Eelus.
I believe that back at the turn of the century you were busy decorating the walls of my joint, East London. Back then what would we have found left behind by you?
A mess generally. I did a lot of small hand-drawn wheat-pasted characters based on sketchbook work, inspired by Edgar Allen Poe and all kinds of stuff. And of course there was the stencil stuff, Star Wars inspired pieces got the ball rolling until I started to develop more of a trademark style painting a lot of dark, creepy looking women and stuff inspired by sci-fi and again, horror.
The Strangest Passion, by Eelus.
When did you first start working in paper, and what has the learning process been like?
I cut my first single-sheet paper piece towards the end of 2010 for a show at Stolen Space in London. I instantly fell in love with the process as it’s very meditative, a little like stencil cutting, but if you make a wrong move you can’t just tape it up and mend it, you have to start all over again. So there’s a high level of concentration involved but it’s a very relaxing process at the same time.
The learning process has been fun and intense. I’d only done 3 pieces in this new layered, 3D style prior to starting the work on Horrorshow. So I was learning and developing more and more with every piece I finished but being behind schedule due to a couple of annoying problems in the studio meant I had no real room for error. It was important that I nailed each piece first time, I didn’t have time to start over.
Warmest Place to Hide, by Eelus.
Which is your favourite bit of work in the current show and why?
I think Warmest Place to Hide is probably my favourite. It’s my homage to John Carpenter‘s awesome movie The Thing but there’s also a touch of the original book Who Goes There in it too. The alien in the book was described as having 3 eyes so I thought that would be fun to include. The piece is more conceptual and abstract than the others and the style of layering the paper in this way worked perfectly for the idea of the alien hiding inside the figure.
The Black Cat, by Eelus.
What next for Eelus?
More and more paper work hopefully. I’m feeling pretty excited about where this new style is going, it’s like a lost cog has fallen into place inside my head and the wheels have started turning again. So I’m really looking forward to developing things further and seeing where it all leads.
Horrorshow by Eelus continues at the Ink_d Gallery until 17th November 2013.
Categories ,brighton, ,East London, ,Edgar Allen Poe, ,Eelus, ,Horrorshow, ,Ink_d, ,John Carpenter, ,Papercut, ,Star Wars, ,Stolen Space, ,street art, ,Street Artist, ,The Black Cat, ,The Thing, ,Warmest Place to Hide, ,Who Goes There
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