BIO

BRENDAN CONRAD FORDE
Studio #1, 2015
The Subtle Kindness In Killing You (left)
Ego Dissolution II (right)

*contact me at brendan@verybadacid.com for general enquiries, or anything NFT/crypto related.

In 2013 when I wasn’t losing sleep day trading bitcoin on margin, I opened up my first studio/gallery space in Chengdu, China. This was pure experiment, with a focus on silk screen printing. Whilst exploring my own working practice, I also began connecting to, and collaborating with a number of artists in the city and beyond. My personal work in this period spanned multiple mediums including solo/group exhibits, alongside the curation of a number of group shows and events (2013-2019). Whichever media/medium I find myself working in, my first intention is always to find ways in which to connect with people in some way by attempting to alter perspectives. I may also on occasion be looking to provoke, though only ever with the aim of starting a conversation.

The Black Hand (2019)
Acrylic on Canvas
100 x 150 cm

Communication of ideas piques my curiosity on a daily basis. Getting a message across seems to me to be a dying art form, be it within the realm of ‘art’, or beyond. That said, it is perhaps after all ‘art’ that stands the greatest chance of saying something that resonates beyond our recognised societal boundaries. It might also keep us from losing our sanity in the inexplicable madness of existence.

Initial works in China centered on iconography, as I sought ways to both empasise and deconstruct the power of imagery and icon (I was also having fun with people’s reactions). As I’ve continued to experiment, more recent works have centered around language, with a recent exhibit ‘Failure to Communicate’ investigating social context bias (Dual Inheritance Theory). I’ve been enjoying very much the process of honing thoughts and observations down into concise, often prose like structure, then transforming these texts into visual, sometimes abstract imagery.

I continue to approach working with screen print from a fine art perspective, as opposed to using the medium as it was intended, as simple method of replication. Any edition prints I have produced have always been embellished with a unique element, produced in very limited quantity. My interest in screen printing has been rooted in experimentation, constantly seeking to introduce new processes into the work. Process has included offsets, various methods of distress, and more recently experiments with base/surface mediums and treatments.

A sample selection of previous works is included herein, in no particular order. These works were produced between 2017, and 2019 in Chengdu, China.

Cunt Sweet (2019)
Acrylic on Paper
60 x 40 cm
Edition of 8

Limited Edition Screen Print available here

‘Cunt Sweet’ came out of an exhibit of works exploring the inherent social & cultural biases we all carry when confronted with particular language (Dual Inheritance Theory). This playful screen-print was included in the show as a counter-balance to some of the more incendiary pieces, with the aim of creating a moment of pause for audiences confronted with the ubiquitous ‘C’ word. I wanted to make the argument that the word only holds the power you give it, or indeed the power ordained upon it by anyone else.

*see original exhibit text here: ‘Failure to Communicate‘

Descendence (2019)
Acrylic on Paper
50 x 50 cm
Edition of 10 +2 AP’s

‘Descendence’ is one of a series of experimental works based around five word prose. These pieces came out of an earlier experiment journaling my private observational thoughts. It took a while to figure out how to convey these observations without being cliched. It wasn’t until I began condensing them into five word prose that the idea/s began to make sense, with language limitation honing everything down into clean, concise statement and form. This piece represents the first edition made available for sale, having been included in a 2019 solo exhibition (Failure to Communicate) in Chengdu, China. ‘Descendence’ makes succinct and simple commentary on a once deeply philosophical society that now finds itself undergoing rapid and expansive development, trading mindfulness for consumerism in abandon. It might also be said to be fair commentary on the contemporary art market…

This is a strictly limited screen-print edition of 10. The screen was distressed by hand to give the effect of distortion, and to ensure that only these limited pieces would be available (the screen was subsequently destroyed). I took great care to compose the text in such a way as to present a disorienting effect on the viewer, making it necessary to slow down and take account of what is being said.

Something that might perhaps serve us all well…

Hindsight (2019)
Acrylic on Canvas
30 x 90 cm (approx.)

One of the very last pieces produced in the China studio, I had fun making this as it was a nice exercise in process. From the initial idea, to researching the historical typography used within eye test charts, and finally to creating in production as clean a contrast as possible to match closely the look and feel of a true test chart. Experimenting again with base I created a heavy, ultra smooth canvas on which to print the letters. I then added a feint secondary translucent layer to create a discreet shadow, optically lifting the text ever so slightly from the off-white base.

A comical side note to this was an experience somewhere around 2014 when renewing my resident visa in China, which required obtaining a medical certificate. There are government appointed facilities carrying out these examinations, which at the time at least were frequently overrun with incoming rural workers obtaining permits for construction gigs. On a bad day it’s a cattle call, with queues stretching out the door of each department. On this occasion when I entered the room for my eye test, after brief examination the doctor at hand sat down adjacent to me, lit up a cigarette, and billowed out a cloud of smoke between myself and the test chart before asking me to recite it. To this day I don’t know if it was a deliberate gesture, or just plain and simple oblivion. I strongly suspect the latter, but either way this work remains a reminder of the folly so commonplace during my time in China, and I look back on such incidents with a fondness.

Repetition I (2019)
Acrylic on Canvas
110 x 94 cm

‘Repetition I’ is an exercise in process, coming from a long standing idea I’d had to ‘paint’ with silk-screens. The colours were created by applying a hand-painted ‘REPETITION’ silk-screened image multiple times to create a contrast to the subsequently overlaid white text. This overlaid text is laid out in tight, uniform array to allow for differing, yet cohesive contrasts in colour. A very literal exercise in repetition, a total of 18 colours were used by adding them one by one as the work progressed. This layering of colours gives rise to a beautiful effect of dimension and depth, with subtle optical shifts between their interplay, again the result of an organic process unfolding in the studio whilst ‘in the work’. This was a purely experimental piece, investigating the applied process of repetition, and the first in a series of forthcoming works.

Repetition II (2019)
Acrylic on Canvas
(Unstretched)

Taking the idea of repetition in a more uniform direction, ‘Repetition II’ finds its play in the optical disorientation generated by the colour palette. When stood in front of the canvas, the text begins to dissolve into an ineligible field of noise. Repetition presents us with an opportunity to albeit briefly, separate from the self and enter an alternate state of awareness.

Self Reflections (2019)
Acrylic on Canvas
100 x 100 cm

‘Self Reflections’ was created as one of the two centre-pieces for ‘Failure To Communicate’, a solo exhibit held in China, 2019. In truth I would have made this regardless of the exhibit, it was an idea already in mind for some time after I’d begun with my original ‘thoughts as texts’ concept in 2017. One of the problems I’d found with this original idea as I’d been journaling my internal thoughts was that they were often (extremely) profane, which I couldn’t justify as a body of work, feeling too confined by its own narrative. These thoughts did however propel me towards the five word prose concept (a separate series of works to this), providing an answer to the problem of concisely communicating an idea.

The more I thought about how to incorporate text into my work, the more I reflected on means of communication, not least my own. I began further questioning my own biases and behaviours in communication, and wondered if I too had been ‘failing to communicate’ through a misuse of language. This reflection requires a high degree of honest and open self depreciation, in order to let go of any beliefs and opinions that might otherwise be misguided. I wanted to find a balance between a visual playfulness, and the brutal, confrontational power of language. I decided to reverse the image to make it less immediately jarring, and give the viewer a literal pause to what they were being confronted with. This is a very intentional analogy to non-defensive communication, something deeply lacking present day in the discussion of opposing ideologies. Occasionally the truth does indeed hurt, but that in no way should transpire that we avoid seeking it.

*see original exhibit text here: ‘Failure to Communicate‘

 

Rhetorical Answers to Rhetorical Questions (2019)
Acrylic on (surface treated) Canvas
(Unstretched)

I consider all of my work to be personal, to varying degree, but this piece holds a special place in that regard. It was the final piece produced in my studio before exiting China permanently, and though I’d already played with Mao’s image more than enough over the years, I knew I was very likely now leaving it behind. I was nonetheless feeling very reflective of my time in China and the things I’d been expressing through my work. It was only a few months prior that I’d created a frenzy by posting a large scale ‘Mao Money’ piece within the public grounds of my studio, which had my phone ringing off the hook with numbers I didn’t recognise within minutes, ordering me to remove it. And this was on a Sunday when no one was around. This was a curious incident because I’d come to believe his image had seen an erosion of impact during my time in China, but on further reflection I came to realise it was myself who’d felt this, and not the people at large.

Later in 2019 during China’s National Day military parade, Mao’s image would again be given new prominence in celebration of 70 years Communist rule. This went some way towards confirming what I had suspected about the indirect influence of Mao present day. There’s an assumed taboo about it, which I’d never been able to have anyone successfully elaborate on any further than ‘it’s political’. My lawyer had warned me privately on two separate occasions that the ‘Mao Money’ image might draw unwanted attention, but I felt comfortable dismissing her concerns given that its purpose was to make economic commentary, and not political. It did fascinate me that she was so emphatic.

‘Rhetorical Answers to Rhetorical Questions’… never being able to get a straight answer, or better yet knowing in advance that no matter how you frame the question, you still won’t be able to get to the heart of the matter. Confucius traded for confusion.
The work itself is a composite of Maos (if you will), which had been created for a definitively tongue in cheek piece titled ‘Fun With Sprites in ’89’ in June that year (2019), marking the anniversary of Tiananmen Square. I was again layering the image of Mao, creating differing tones and effects within each, to represent the pervasiveness that lives both at a distance, and at the same time eminently close. There’s a nice decay effect in the midsection, created by the use of a gesso/clay mix, producing that organic distortion across the face. This was intentionally analogous to the statues still standing after all these years, and no doubt something of China I will never forget.

Mao Money ‘Special’ (2019)
Acrylic on Canvas
*with fluorescent detail over-print
97 x 38 cm

‘Mao Money’, the origins for ‘Solid States’, was made in 2011 at a time when everyone wanted to talk about the Chinese economy. Living and working in China it became increasingly obvious to me that the real story was an invasion of famous Western brands, and how this ‘trade’ be where the real power of economy lives. This power transcends all political ideologies, replacing them with how citizens choose to spend their wealth. In many respects this image is a comment on the power of branding, and how it has the ability to travel both distance and time. This image also potentially raises the question of how the individual places value on ‘money’, and the subsequent choices made with it.

This canvas was something of an experiment that I ended up being very happy with. In addition to the visible detail offsets, an additional fluorescent detail layer has been printed as an overlay.

Mao Money Red/Yellow (2017)
Acrylic on Paper
38 x 55 cm
Edition of 6

Solid States 2017
Acrylic on Paper
50 x 70 cm
1/1

‘Solid States’ was a result of searching through my extensive production materials in 2017, finding a photograph I had taken of a large scale thermal print of ‘Mao Money’, put together for a street art piece. Two things in particular caught my attention… first of all the eyes, though lacking in any typical detail manage to maintain an engaging quality. Secondly, the thermal printer used to produce a 5 meter wide version was temperamental, leaving visible damage across each printed surface. It has the appearance of static, as does the halftone used in the image, giving rise to the ominous title, intended as part reference to the period of ‘solid state’ technologies used in television sets circa 1960’s & 1970’s. I like the idea of these eyes looking out upon their captive audience present day, having transcended space and time as reproductive image. ‘Solid States II’ was a further play on this theme of reproduction, with the introduction of multiple colour offsets in the print editions, including the unique ‘Mao Money Special’ incorporating a fluorescent detail overlay.

Solid States II (2017)
Acrylic on Paper
38 x 55 cm
Edition of 14

Fluorescent Hand Job
Acrylic on 100% Rag Paper
50 cm x 50 cm
Edition of 9

This image was taken from a photograph shot in my original studio in 2014. I had been so engrossed in throwing paint at a canvas that it took me a few minutes to realise I had covered myself from head to toe with the same paint, a striking bright yellow oil that I had diluted down to make it moveable. I grabbed my camera and took this shot, as a record of my momentary loss to the creative process. It’s a subtle reminder of how even the simplest of things can absorb us completely when we are passionate about them, free of the everyday external interpretations and expectations that ‘thinking’ can impose upon us. There is no greater ideology at play here, just some subtle shifts in the screen printed layers to introduce some deviance from one piece to the next. These were hand pulled (as all my silk screens are) on a beautifully textured cotton rag paper that helps give real depth to this 5 colour ‘fluorescent’ print, as with the alternate ‘Neapolitan’ 6 colour version below. A very limited number of alternate 3 colour versions were made for an exhibit in 2018, titled ‘Perspectives & Dimensions Are Attitudes In Shift’. I had made deliberate attempt to juxtapose the photo-realistic hand with flat background in each version, with a panel of 9 presented (3 x 3) inside a red/blue light controlled room. The light was used to distort photographic images taken inside the room, the distortions not being visible until viewed outside in natural light. I wanted to bring to attention the very nature of perspective, and the radical shifts possible under change of circumstance and/or environment.

Fluorescent Hand Job
Acrylic on 100% Rag Paper
50 cm x 50 cm
Edition of 9

Education:

Fine Art/Multi Media Technology (East Sussex College of Arts & Technology)

BSc Multimedia Technology with Film & Sound Production (University of Central England)

Exhibitions:

Various solo/group exhibits, including;

2019 – ‘Failure to Communicate’ – [solo] (Berlin Haus, Chengdu)

2018 – ’Perspectives & Dimensions are Attitudes in Shift’ – [solo] (321 Cultural Park, Chengdu)

2017 – ‘New International’ – [group show] (Hong Museum, Chengdu)

2016 – ‘Echoes’ – [group show] (Sichuan University Art Museum, Chengdu)