"In the world of contemporary art, where irony and introspection often collide, Ant Hamlyn has carved a space all his own. Known for his playful yet poignant use of polyurethane-coated fabrics and glossy acrylic panels, Hamlyn transforms the familiar into something uncanny - objects both soft and suffocating, tangible yet trapped. His works invite laughter at first glance but quickly turn contemplative, drawing on centuries of artistic tradition while reinterpreting it through the lens of modern excess and digital aesthetics."
"At the core of Hamlyn's practice lies a deep fascination with vanitas, the classic Western art genre that used still-life imagery to meditate on mortality, consumption, and the fleeting nature of pleasure. Yet where 17th-century painters filled their canvases with decaying fruit and extinguished candles, Hamlyn trades those motifs for fast food wrappers, potted plants, and neon-colored bar carts. These are the objects that define contemporary indulgence - the quick hit of satisfaction that evaporates almost as soon as it's felt."
"There's a knowing wit embedded in Hamlyn's approach. His sculptures, often appearing "smushed" behind pristine sheets of acrylic, poke fun at the absurdity of modern life. The transparency of the medium feels metaphorical - a visual metaphor for our constant self-display, our desire to be seen, and our tendency to preserve perfection even as it wilts. Through this lens, Hamlyn's works become both funny and uncomfortable. They make the viewer complicit in the very behaviors they critique."
Ant Hamlyn uses polyurethane-coated fabrics and glossy acrylic panels to transform mundane objects into uncanny, compressed sculptures that oscillate between playful and suffocating. The work recontextualizes vanitas by replacing decaying fruit and extinguished candles with fast-food wrappers, potted plants, and neon-colored bar carts that symbolize contemporary indulgence. Transparency and the pristine acrylic surfaces act as metaphors for self-display and the desire to preserve perfection while concealment and compression make viewers complicit in modern consumption. Earlier 'squishy flowers' exemplify the blend of hyper-stylized optimism and synthetic durability, highlighting the tension between tactile allure and artificiality.
Read at stupidDOPE | Est. 2008
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