Joel Weaver creates small scale, highly detailed figurative pencil drawings, taking apart images from their original context and reconstructing them to created reinvented realities.
"I invite the viewer to study closely, and observe a world where things perhaps are not quite what they seem."
Joel studied at Leeds College of Art and the University of Northumbria, then completed a one year fellowship in drawing where he received the prestigious Mike Holland Memorial Drawing Prize. He has worked as a studio assistant for Ryan Gander, Damien Hirst and Carlos Rolon alongside developing his own unique art practice.
"My creative process begins with collecting discarded, vernacular, vintage photography and selecting stills from moving imagery. I identify elements within each photo I find intriguing; something that jumps out from within an image, the rare detail that attracts me.
It may be something that reminds me of my childhood, an object of sentimental value, a sense of deja vu, or something operating on a subconscious level."
Joel and Charlotte have been friends for many years, and Joel's interest in creative collaboration plus Charlotte's ability to see the commercial potential of his work led to a successful partnership.
"I was keen to observe how my drawings would translate to printed fabric. For example, I knew that the drawings would be scaled up on a massive scale; how would this alter the way they were viewed? I was eager to find out how even the minutest mark making, however inconspicuous or light, would be then interpreted on a much larger scale."
The result is a delicate, complex pattern, “Between Certainty and Oblivion”. Two original small scale drawings - less than 10 cm square and created by Joel for The Monkey Puzzle Tree - are spliced together on an impressively large scale, forming a unique relationship between content, aesthetic and surface.
“With this type of work there is inevitably an element of surprise. Sometimes there are stumbling blocks; yet in the end, to have made that journey, it can deliver work that is refreshing and rewarding.”
