Jeremy Ellul

                             I've Had Enough. Leave Me Alone. 2009

"Jeremy is a conceptual artist more concerned with the idea than its material realization. Technique is less important. Jeremy is not hampered by tradition or convention. He dangerously hangs on a cliff edge but there is the excitement that danger and fear stimulate.

Jeremy is a master of graffito (example: ‘Faces’), six expressions scratched with the wooden part of the brush on canvas board mounted on wooden blocks. Jeremy’s language is primitive not as in Lascaux and Altamira that can compete with Caravaggio but match-stick design. His art disarms with its simplicity, frugality, roughness; and it is so elemental.

Jeremy is fearless when tackling life’s problems: death, disease or tension. His expressions of horror and ugliness are: ‘Risen’, ‘Leave me alone, I’ve had enough’, ‘Ecce Homo’ and ‘Road Rage – Everyone is a Ticking Bomb’. These are a result of direct experience such as an x-ray of a person sick of cancer, a tired person ready to die, and a driver in traffic." - wrote E.V.Borg, Artissa.com critic

Jeremy Ellul

Born in 1975 (Malta)

My first memories in art go back to my early school days where even though I thoroughly enjoyed my art lessons, I found it difficult to execute what was asked of me.  A considerable amount of time then passed until the early years of the new millennium.  It was then following, a surf trip to St. Ives in Cornwall, when it dawned on me.  Why paint what you physically see?  Why paint the water blue?  Why necessarily follow rules?  I think it really started at this point, where I felt that executing a piece of work would be one of the few things that could make one feel free, just as free as you feel when windsurfing.

I experiment as much as possible and am not afraid of the medium.

In painting, and also in sculpture, I use a variety of techniques including impasto and graffito; however I do not like to limit myself.  I am quite drawn to trying new things.  Fashioning my own tools out of pure experimentation or necessity has also influenced my work.

Two local artists, which I really respect, have helped me in this respect, namely Gabriel Caruana and Carmel Bonello.  They have also influenced my work in various ways, and been mentors to me.  Both these artists had urged me in the early days to keep at it.  It was Gabriel Caruana who pushed me to remain free in my work an to have my first exhibition.  Carmel Bonello inspired me to try new media.  He showed me how versatile an artist can be.

                Pretense. Oil On Canvas. 2010

I guess all artists who I have read about or seen works of, both contemporary and from earlier times influence my work: Wassily Kandinsky, Henry Moore, and Pablo Picasso just to mention a few.

My work form 2002 to date has gone through some different periods.  My early works are representations of the elements, wind, water and fire (the sun), which I felt close to when practicing my sport windsurfing.  It was also a way of expressing ones emotions.  Just as the sea can change from calm to rough and stormy, so can ones mood.  It was also a period of experimentation with one of the basic geometric shaped…the circle.

Another period was influenced by human expression. The human face,  one can tell so much from it.  I produced a series of faces, using brushwork, palette knifes and various techniques.

Inspiration came also from our local rich history and religion, like Figure of A Woman Reclined – a representation of the female form also influenced by the sleeping goddess found in local prehistoric temples.  I took this figure also to represent the caring aspect associated with women.  A pregnant woman already feeling a nurturing feeling for her unborn child as my ink piece on paper entitled Expecting.  I think that this period culminated in a metal sculpture entitled Life.  This was created just before my wife gave birth to our son.  This represents the mother and child, and life, our past history and where we are going.

Latest works have focused on human emotions, everyday instances and situations in a world that is moving so fast.  Egoism, fear, envy and impatience are some of my representations on canvas, such as Road Rage – Everyone is a Ticking Bomb, and Leave me alone - I’ve had enough.

Even though my work has been evolving, I do go back to previous themes to present them in a new form.  I am currently experimenting with wooden and ceramic pieces, and look forward to what inspiration the future may bring.

                                Risen. 2009

           

        Taking Time Out. 2010