Grant Foster selects 'The Atrocity Exhibition' by J G Ballard, first published by Jonathan Cape UK, 1970. Both artist and writer embrace in equal measure the freedom, fear and disappointment that results from the individual being a fragmented composition, vulnerable to manipulation and capable of dynamic reconfiguration. In hope and despair, Grant points out that there is the possibility that 'true form' can be found 'beneath the lie; beneath the sludge'. We discuss in detail, works from his exhibitions at Tintype, Lychee One and Transition Galleries, as well as the ideas, concerns and formal observations which shape his paintings.(Mixed Tapes is an introductory series recorded in lockdown with variations in audio quality.)

Notes and Links:

GRANT FOSTER

- grantfoster.org (website)

- foster_grant (instagram)

- tintypegallery.com/artists/grant-foster (gallery)

BOOKS / TEXT

- 'Ambit' magazine

- 'The Cradle of Humanity: How the Changing Landscape of Africa Made us so Smart' by Daniel Lieberman

- 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde

- 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

- 'Apollo' magazine, article by Simon Grant

- 'Thoughts on Doom' by Eleanor Hartney of AICA (aicainternational.com)

- 'The Brothers Karamazov' by Fyodor Dostoevsky

- 'Pattern Recognition' by William Gibson

GALLERIES

- Lychee One ('I'm not being Funny' solo exhibition, 2019)

- Transition Gallery ('A Stone in the Mountain' with Georgia Hayes, 2018)

- Tintype Gallery ('Ground Figure Sky' solo exhibition, 2017)

PODCASTS

- 'Weird Studies' with Phil Ford and J F Martel

- 'Extinction Rebellion and the End of the World' hosted by Rana Mitter on 'BBC Arts & Ideas'

ARTISTS

- Georgia Hayes b. 1946, Sigmar Polke 1941-2010, Andy Warhol 1928-1987, Max Ernst 1891-1976, Marcelle Duchamp 1887-1968, Francis Picabia 1879-1953, George Grosz 1893-1959, J W Turner 1775-1851, Albrecht Dürer 1471-1528