Sex Drugs and MFM is an exploration of Mashup Culture and the re-appropriation of disparate narratives, media and textures. As is the case with concepts rooted in experimentation, the scale and scope of the project are in a state of constant evolution. This multi-media and multi-dimensional project will unfold itself over the coming weeks and months.

Biography

Chow Martin is a Canadian artist working out of Toronto where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking from the Ontario College of Art and Design. His work vacillates between a cynical and humorous deconstruction of our contemporary digital mayhem, and an earnest analysis of the meaning and consequences inherent in generating visual images in this climate. Fusing clean simplicity with the chaos of the bodily and grotesque, Chow creates visceral pieces which seek to contort context and challenge notions of composure. Much of his studio work consists of painting and drawing, though he is increasingly engaged in the exploration of visual narrative in all of its forms.

After attaining a promising amount of success through international exhibitions and publications over the past 5 years, Chow recently decided to leave his nightshift job as hospital janitor to pursue his passion full-time in an effort to explore his concepts and talents. What lies ahead for the artist is an exciting period full of exhibition opportunities, collaborations and special projects.

Available Artworks - Tank Series

Tank is coalescence of deconstructed, anatomical hybrids of man and animal. The grotesque nature of these subjects is harshly contrasted against the beauty and simplicity of the hand-drawn line, creating a narrative open for interpretation. The series of work is an exploration of the interaction of oppositional forces at a material, physical and psychological level. Themes of conflict, tension, dissonance, decay and despair are enhanced through the use of marks created by plurally visceral reactions. These reactions stem from the ball-and-socket joint of the shoulder and flow through the fingertips to the cutting edge of chow´s drafting weapon. This method of mark making uses the pen as an extension of the body´s peripheral anatomy; it is a means of instantaneous and direct surface intervention. Through this aggressive technique, the surface of the substrate is assaulted, lacerated and injected with ink. This explosive, dynamic and violent interaction is conveyed through the use of imagery and the physical act of mark making itself.