3rd Prize Winner
33PA Emerging Artist Award

Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize 2024

Senescence

Title:

“Theseus”

Medium & Dimensions:

Marker (Copic and Generic), Colored Pencil, Ballpoint, gel and felt tip on rag stock paper, 81.4 x 118.9 cm

About the Artist

Born in Adelaide Australia Senescence began informally illustrating in black and white pencil at an early age, before entering the visual arts industry at eighteen. Following my various roles in the commercial graphic arts sector he completed a psychology and then medical degree, ultimately specialising in the teaching of surgical and medical anatomy at the University of Adelaide. After over fifteen years in Senescence academic role, and just before the birth of his daughter, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor as well as several other health concerns. Unable to return to work Senescence have come full circle to his art origins. He has never created art for himself nor outside of the commercial space, and so he begins this part of his life a new, merging several decades of experience into one.

“Theseus”: Stemming from Greek mythology, the Ship of Theseus grew to be a thought experiment as to whether an object is the same after having had all its original components replaced. The idea has been and continues to be explored in the context of human identity, as well as individual anatomy and physiology. From a cellular level and possibly more we are all something new today, with most of the body being replaced with analogous parts at varying speeds. The same question has and will likely be asked when medical technology enables a lot more of our bodies to be augmented. Arguably you of now will never be again, so what features most make you – you.