IN HIS OWN WORDS
Hi, I’m Chris
Gray. I'm 48-years-old, and have a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia
which is largely under control by the correct medication. I
grew up in Littlehampton and I've lived in Brighton for over
twenty years.
I've
been using computers to create images, animations, interactive
pieces and music since the early 1990's and I have a Professional
Development Certificate in interactive multimedia design.
I have recently
had several pieces published in The Big Issue magazine and one
of my pictures has been included in Letting in the Light, an
outdoor light-box exhibition in Stratford, East London. One
of my animated short movies was shown on regional television
in 2002.
I also have paid
work experience in graphic design, 3D design / animation, video
editing, web research and as a PC and audio / visual field technician.
I've always enjoyed
drawing and painting. During my early teens I was a keen model
maker (Airfix kits etc.) and later was very interested in painting
and modifying role-playing figurines (citadel miniatures and
the like). I like to think of these hobbies as a sort of apprenticeship
in form and colour and different types of paint and painting
techniques.
I first got into
using computers in my artwork writing programs in BASIC to generate
geometrical graphics patterns on early 8-bit computers like
the Sinclair Spectrum and the Acorn Electron in the 80s, but
more seriously when I got my first Commodore Amiga and Deluxe
Paint. Since then I've been using a combination of digital and
hand drawn techniques in my work.
I'm greatly inspired
by surrealists like René Magritte, M.C. Escher and Salvador
Dali, abstract artists like Wassily Kandinsky and Jackson Pollock,
a lot of Pop artists including Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein
and Op Art artists like Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely.
I'm also very interested
in ideas surrounding geometry and topology (the juxtaposition
of regular and irregular polygonal shapes, symmetry / asymmetry
and tessellation) and concepts from chaos theory and fractal
maths (endless repetitions of similar but non-identical shapes
and patterns etc.).
My other influences
come from many disparate sources such as comic books and cartoons,
science fiction and fantasy art (Chris Foss, Rodney Matthews
etc.), album covers, tribal art from around the world, body
art, graffiti and stained glass windows. I love using a lot
of bright, clashing colours in my work.
My work is mostly
about internal states of mind I have experienced, from dreams
and nightmares to altered states of perception, euphoria, delirium,
isolation, alienation, paranoia and psychosis. I am in no way
trying to create photo-realistic images from the real world,
but rather to interpret some of the things I have been through
in my mind in a visual and hopefully pleasing, although sometimes
disturbing, form.
I have also been
producing, mixing and recording electronic music for over twenty
years. Over this time I've used a wide variety of techniques
and technologies. I make tunes across a broad spectrum of styles
from hip-hop to rock, mellow electronica to hardcore drum and
bass, all from a very experimental angle. In addition I've made
several animated short movies and videos to accompany my tunes.
