My current work exists a contemporary context where virtual and physical realities continuously blur together.They are objects that attempt to be 'reverse' sculptures, the perception of which is activated and deactivated by the viewer moving around them. More broadly my work revisits traditional representational devices and methodologies, approaching them in alternative ways. By altering the physical I can attempt to reveal the virtual subtext that penetrates everyday life.
'Responding to architectonic forms and urban design principles, Blackwell combines the disciplines of drawing and sculpture to suggest warped perspectives, complex vanishing points and linear convergences found within the built environment. Line is used to maximum effect, suggestively bending and folding spatial perspective. Oscillating between the physical and the represented, Blackwell's virtual spaces exploit notions of accessible and impenetrable space, creating a kind of playful optical banter with the viewer.
Phe Luxford
Space catalogue essay
Richard Blackwell is a recipient of the 2012 Fulbright Scholarship. He recently exhibited new works in his solo exhibition, Yes is More, and in 2011 exhibited his major series GROTTO - an exhibition in 3 volumes, which was shown in Canberra, Melbourne and Chicago, and was supported by the Australia Council of the Arts. His work has recently been collected for ARTBANK and his work was recently profiled in Australian Art Review.
