Joel Bird
‘It is a flow between our inner reality and the external, which gives birth to understanding. The lines of flux between these two worlds are as nature’s invisible synapse, branches that stretch to infinite possibilities of significance.’
Painting
It is the harmony and tension between different worlds and their effects on our reality that are intertwined in Joel Birds paintings. The interaction between these different worlds helps to create a flow of form to the composition of the painting and expresses Joel Bird’s belief in the natural order of the universe. ‘In the space between what is visible and invisible, physical and metaphysical, objective and subjective, exists a force that has structure, a force that gives birth to our very understanding of art. Whether this force is conscious or intelligent is irrelevant to understanding, it is the acceptance that there is an eternal reality that is beyond our own that is important, even if that reality is simply eternity itself’. The lines of flux, their colour, direction and intensity, occurring most often between a living subject and its surroundings, represent both a relationship with a natural order and an expression of the subjects’ inner reality or mood. Each painting contains somewhere within it a bird, sometimes it is a feature, sometimes it is hidden. The bird or birds’ dominance, direction and interaction with the subject are relative to their influence on the meaning of the painting. For example, the bird might symbolized the passage of time, the presence of an observer, or the release of an emotion.
Craft
Joel Bird’s involvement with the painting extends also to the construction of the frames and the stretching of the canvas. His love of carpentry not only provides him with a skill that expresses a commitment to quality and consistency, but also expresses his belief that the origin of art has a relationship as much to do with craft as it does to concept. ‘In art, whether writing or drawing, dancing or falling, my “like” usually gravitates towards a sense of quality or sincerity. Most humans have a natural talent for concept or for craft, but not always for both.’
Sculpture
Joel Bird sculpts birds from Clay; he creates a mould using silicon with a resin casing then casts them usually in bio-resins or concrete. The Sculptures are both large and small but are usually less abstract in form than some of his painting. The experimentation takes place in the cast materials, or in the location in which the casts are placed. The concrete birds often feature in unusual setting around the countryside or in cities and this is part of what Joel Bird calls ‘necessary art’. ‘I liked the idea of concrete bird spotting. I wanted to involve people; creating public art away from the market place has a meaning that is closer to the origins of art, more human and necessary’.
Sound
Joel Bird creates simulations of bird calls using a collection of old analogue synthesizers, he feels they are a good ‘back drop’ to view his work. He also writes compositions based on bird calls. He describes the bird call as something indelibly linked with human art. ‘Bird song is not just about hard wired genetic outbursts, they have dialect, they learn from their neighbors and create their own patterns. Sometimes I re-create them; sometimes I try to create them. I love to get inside a wavelength, it is like a piece of raw energy to me, it can feel like manipulating part of the fabric of the universe’.
Photography
Joel Bird takes photographs of chimneys. It started from watching birds on roofs whilst doing loft conversions in London. ‘Chimneys are just one of those things in life people never really notice properly, and this is everything to do with art. They are unknowingly beautiful and supremely functional; this to me is the most splendid of art’.
For more information email joelbird@joelbird.com
