One of the coolest additions to the 'Stockport Scene': the artist-led independent gallery and art space mura ma in Marple, is looking forward to the opening of next week's Joey Collins Mechanical Confection exhibition.
Mechanical Confection is a solo exhibition of new work by Manchester artist, Joey Collins opening on Saturday 18 March – 1 April 2023.
Joey subjects his playful analogue and digital drawings to a process akin to a mechanised production method that involves constructing, de-constructing, reconstructing and repetition. He uses silk screen printing as his system to bring order and control to his mark making to create colourful animated compositions.
“The process of screen printing allows me to control gestures made through drawing and then slowly organise my visual language into a more formal structure. Screen printing also allows me to build my images, in a way it is just like collage.
"I work with screen printing because for me it’s a similar process to sculpting or painting, building images as if I'm making something three dimensional. The work becomes densely layered, each process and colour leaving a trace behind the next emphasising the physicality of screen printing and the passing of time.
Collaging each element in various places around the image. These elements hop from work to work; landing in different places, sometimes changing colour and interacting with each other in different positions.”
Having studied sculpture during his fine art degree, Joey stresses that space is as important as form in his work to create a feel of the object. His love of photographing the city where he lives and works also influences his work.
He feels drawn to abstract painting, particularly the work of Joan Mitchel, Andre Butzer and Howard Hodgkin. He also points to Stanley Witney’s development of his own abstract visual language in response to colour as a significant influence on his practice.
Joey Collins’ studio looks out over the city and its time-lapse landscape, from dereliction and wasteland to high rise street scenes – he’s been watching over Oldfield Road, Salford from his corner of Hotbed Press print workshop for the past six years. His studio contains many found objects, colour studies, drawings and photographs collected from around the city, evidence that winds its way into the work.
After graduating from University of Salford in 1997 with a first-class honours degree in Visual Arts, Joey worked in the creative industries including graphic design, interior design, textiles, even making chocolate. From 2014 he has been developing a body of work exploring the medium of collage, drawing and printmaking.
This exhibition presents a significant new body of work titled ‘Stack’ and consists of individual mono-printed works printed onto Somerset Satin and Yupo watercolour paper, each piece is unique and are available to buy at the exhibition.
This is the second exhibition from Mura Ma, a new independent artist-run gallery located at 15 Stockport Road, Marple, Stockport SK67BD.
