Introducing the artists for our next Exhibitions
ROD VASS
Rod has had a long career of artistic enterprise. Originally studying Fine Art, during the 80’s and 90’s he worked as an international illustrator and designer, represented in the UK and USA.
Rod’s work has always involved 2D and 3D creations, with commissions ranging from illustrations for advertising, publishing, packaging and the music business, to designs and sculptures for TV, holograms, archaeological reconstructions, exhibitions and installations.
In 1997 Rod founded Armordillo Ltd, to design and create costume, sculptures, sets and props for film, TV and live performance. Rod and his associates developed a unique manufacturing technique for their designs, involving polyurethane resins and foams. Unlike most film creations, their pieces do not have a short lifespan and the materials are suitable for permanent indoor and outdoor display. More of Rod’s film work can be viewed here:- https://www.armordillo.co.uk Rod’s Armordillo team also provided the incredible sets for the multi award winning 2021 film The Deep https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9098872/
In recent years, Louis Vass has contributed his skills as a 3D digital sculptor to the process, enabling even more sophisticated sculptural techniques to be incorporated.
During the last year Rod and his team have reworked very large sculptural pieces originally made for productions including Tomb Raider, Centurion, Beowulf, Harry Potter and Tolkien. Repaired and re-finished these sculptures make unique statement pieces, currently installed in the beautiful rural surroundings of the Canwood Gallery.
Rod has also developed his 2D artwork and has created unique, large prints on wooden panels, which can be hung without frames, which will also be show at Canwood Gallery 14th April -1st May.
Veronika Lavey
Personal Statement
I am a self-portrait artist. I photograph myself taking on the persona of an autobiographical or a theatrical character to create artwork depicting resilience and strength in hardship. My work illuminates shared emotional experiences to create a sense of belonging relying mostly on personal experiences of what it feels like to be a misfit. My mission is to reproduce familiar feelings into visuals through conceptually layered, digitally manipulated photographs, as well as the written word, which often accompanies the images, usually in poetry form.
My methodology to create self-portraits remains consistent in its process, whereby I work alone with the aid of a camera, a tripod and a remote control. However, I use a variety of ideas to create narratives I believe we are all connected to; the ones we are naturally wired to listen to, the ones that make us feel united in our pain, our hopes our journey of life. To me, being an artist is a never-ending journey through these ideas and human experiences. It is an exciting journey; building images from scratch, employing a rich visual language of surrealism and symbolism, which is made more familiar by often involving the natural elements of the woodland.
Ideas for the images are drawn from a myriad of sources; from conversations with people experiencing hardship, through poetry (my own as well as others’), to the woods I visit daily. They are linked by the same personal desire to find my own fit in the world.
The square format provides me with a particular space in which I prefer to work in order to achieve a balanced, central composition. This frame also has an additional benefit of helping the viewer believe they are looking at something other-worldly instead of a photograph in its traditional sense of the medium and its usual format. The final piece usually looks completely different from the original photograph. I carefully blend elements, highlight the subject and choose appropriate clothing and an ambiguous location to give the finished work a feeling of timelessness.
I don’t capture moments, I capture relatable feelings, which the audience can then translate into their own stories. Art, in times of need, can bring a kind of peace and comfort in how we interpret its depicted thoughts and ideas. By recognising one’s self in any art form, deep rooted feelings will latch on to the artistic experience and find solace.
