Paul Insect | interview by liz rice mccray
UK contemporary artist Paul Insect’s images combine sharp- edge with sleek modernism, surreal renderings and playful absurdism in colorfully drenched canvases, alluring the viewers eyes to focus and take a deeper look at his take on classic por- traiture. Since the 1990’s Paul Insect mysteriously started mak- ing his mark with witty stencils and street art... a living legend amongst the London art circles, his reputation grew internation- ally when in 2007 Insect’s solo exhibition Bullion, at London’s Lazarides Gallery, was purchased entirely by artist Damien Hirst just days before it opened. Damien Hirst later said when inter- viewed, “I can’t pretend I’m not in love with Paul Insect a little bit – but not in a gay way.” We must say when researching and taking in all of Paul Insects work we also felt the love for his artistry and declaring it; we love his paintings, his collaborative puppetry with creative partner Bäst and their performance short videos found on social media @paulinsect are breaking bounds of traditional puppetry. These puppet shows have become their own animals and have also been admired by Banksy and were included in Banksy’s dystopia installation Dismaland. Paul In- sect’s art continues to evolve in all shapes, mediums and sizes and we are excited to watch it.
Many thanks, Paul Insect, for your mark in the art world and for taking the time to answer our questions.