Craig Kerrecoe
Craig Kerrecoe uses colour as a way
of abstractly studying and understanding his actions,
reactions and interactions with those around him. Pursuing
a relatively simple ‘flesh against machine’ metaphor, using
nothing more than wallpaper scrapers, he scrapes paint onto
each canvas, layer after layer, as if removing these layers
from his own ‘self’.
He then scrapes the paint off again in the hope that this removal process will somehow ‘reveal’ the true identity that lies beneath. Whether this true identity is genetically composed or spiritually based is probably less important than the expectation that, once free, it will be unencumbered by the weight of a lifetime of experience and assumption.
'The Code' series of paintings, started in 2004, uses a complex language of abstract colour and pattern, designed to convey Kerrecoe's internal conflict to balance his genetically produced instincts with his sense of 'free-will'.
He then scrapes the paint off again in the hope that this removal process will somehow ‘reveal’ the true identity that lies beneath. Whether this true identity is genetically composed or spiritually based is probably less important than the expectation that, once free, it will be unencumbered by the weight of a lifetime of experience and assumption.
'The Code' series of paintings, started in 2004, uses a complex language of abstract colour and pattern, designed to convey Kerrecoe's internal conflict to balance his genetically produced instincts with his sense of 'free-will'.
In 2007/8 he collaborated with OC Artist
Esther Appleyard BA (Hons)
on a joint project entitled
'A Series Of Lines'
which was shown at Three Cups Gallery in Ely during May and
June, 2007, and then at the prestigious
Worcester City Art Gallery
in April/May 2008.
'Within The Weave', the short film by Craig & Esther, made to accompany their joint exhibition at Worcester City Art Gallery, was selected for the international Streaming Festival at The Hague in the Netherlands in October 2008. He also judged the inaugural Needhams Open Art Competition 2009 along with John Lyons and Kaine Kulczak and has written articles for several art magazines such as 'Art & Soul', 'The Bullet' and 'Graffiti'.
Since then his work has unexpectedly developed in a digital sense. Kerrecoe scans his paintings, zooms in to certain areas of interest and digitally modifies them, before adding text to the digital image. He then experiments on each image with colour variations and different filters.
The project book 'SELF: Self-portraits from around the world', compiled by Craig to accompany the Ovenden Contemporary self-portrait competition, was published in 2009 and is available to order from Beautiful Cariad Publishing.
'Within The Weave', the short film by Craig & Esther, made to accompany their joint exhibition at Worcester City Art Gallery, was selected for the international Streaming Festival at The Hague in the Netherlands in October 2008. He also judged the inaugural Needhams Open Art Competition 2009 along with John Lyons and Kaine Kulczak and has written articles for several art magazines such as 'Art & Soul', 'The Bullet' and 'Graffiti'.
Since then his work has unexpectedly developed in a digital sense. Kerrecoe scans his paintings, zooms in to certain areas of interest and digitally modifies them, before adding text to the digital image. He then experiments on each image with colour variations and different filters.
The project book 'SELF: Self-portraits from around the world', compiled by Craig to accompany the Ovenden Contemporary self-portrait competition, was published in 2009 and is available to order from Beautiful Cariad Publishing.
Kerrecoe also writes art courses- his 'Self-Promotion
For The Artist' course is offered by several colleges as
a Diploma with NCFE Level 3 Award status (NVQ3/A-Level
equivalent). In 2008, the Open College of the Arts
commissioned Craig to write a student guidebook for them
called 'The Artist As Entrepreneur' and this is now
given to their thousands of students from around the
world as part of a pack of resources.
Magazine Article About 'A Series Of Lines'
The following is an article extracted from 'The Bullet' magazine (Spring 2008). It features an interview with Craig Kerrecoe and Esther Appleyard talking about their collaborative multi-media exhibition 'A Series Of Lines' at Worcester City Museum and Art Gallery. The exhibition tookplace in April/May of 2008 and included paintings, installations and a film...
Visit www.Kerrecoe.co.uk for more information or to contact Craig.
