Paradox Paul
Since 2020 I have been based at Paradox Island in Ventnor, making
parody consumer products out of random used items, packaged to look
new and once more attractive to buy. This year my "trash art" project
has taken on LPs and Paradox Island has been taken over by Dodgy
Records Ltd.
Album art in the 70's and 80's from Hipgnosis was a big influence as a
youngster. I spent pocket money on LPs chosen purely for the covers,
discovering at home what the music was like. Perhaps because I was so
in awe of the artworks and the feel of the expensive (for me) records
themselves, I was rarely disappointed in what they contained.
Designs for the "Fake Albums" are turned into record sleeves
containing actual used records, made anonymous with gold leaf covering the original information on the centre labels. Listening to the discs - which can be anything from stand-up comedy to Bach or Barry Manilow to Scottish pipes - therefore becomes an enhanced experience (or a disappointing one!) without preconceptions, and with a brand new cover image. Here, art meets music in shifting juxtapositions, while what started as trash art has developed into alternative fine art.
Commission queries via: paul@paradoxisland.com
Instagram: @paradox.island
Website: https://www.paradoxpaul.com
