Pauline Amos

Born: Liverpool
Educated: Liverpool Art College Manchester (BA Hons) Dartington College of Arts PhD
Area of work: avant-garde
Practice: Painting, performance art, music
Favourite quote: “If it is not right do not do it: if it is not true do not say it.” Marcus Aurelius

 

Background

British born Pauline Amos is a creative performance and painting artist with a unique style of work combining performance, painting and music. Amos has a PhD from Dartington College of Arts, and has drawn international acclaim for her provocative, powerful and bold works.

Amos experimented in Liverpool’s music and acting scene in the 90s before incorporating her experience into painting and performance art. In the early 2000’s, Amos held a series of in-gallery performances entitled ‘My Flesh My Canvas’, which led to exhibitions and performances throughout Europe and Asia.

Evolving the work of Kandinsky and Schoenberg, who extolled the harmony between art and music in the last century. Amos uses the body as a blank canvas to explore the interaction between performance, art and music. In 2009 she held an exhibition and performance in London titled ‘Atomic Forms and Their Corruptions’, using her naked body as a canvas, working in the moment and placing herself within the painting, to become part of it. Stating, ‘the art is the person – the life that is making the work. The paintings are documents and a recording of an event, an action that happened – they are not the work; the action, the performance the improvised and impulsive moment is the work’.

Other major works include a 24 hour performances in The Opera Paese Gallery, Rome, which resulted in Amos launching her first London exhibition in 2005 showing the Opera Paese Gallery performance painting with a price tag of £1.3m. A work that later became known as ‘the £1.3m’. When asked how long the painting had taken to complete, Amos replied, ‘all my life and the value of life is priceless’. The price was purposefully provocative, creating significant media comment and opinion.

In Amos’ latest body of works ‘Pity the Meat’ she pays homage to the writing of Deleuze and Francis Bacon. Also referencing the ‘body without organs’ by Antonin Artaud, a rejection of pre-determined organisation imposed on the body. Amos’ improvisational approach to her work is as a ‘Demonstration of Liberation’ from societal codes, political inscription, dogma and doctrine.

Amos’ dramatic work is her understanding of the human condition, a response to the world around her and with an underlying narrative of her life and experiences.

A full biography of Amos’ work can be found below.

Websites:

http://www.pamos.co.uk
https://www.youtube.com/user/appolloamos
https://vimeo.com/11527998 http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/04/2009_27_wed.shtml https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGAvbY8iZsc

Past Exhibition and work

2017: August ‘Pity the Meat’, performance painting and exhibition, London (UK) 2017: Pity the Meat, album released
2016: Retreat – series, drawings & performance Dartmoor, Devon, UK
2016: recordings, writings, performance – Pity the Meat – Redlap Studios

2016: Paintings – exhibition @ Hodsoll Gallery London.
2015: July Blue Affair Reflect painting triptych exhibited, London, (UK)
2015: June Chelsea Arts Club Painting Performance triptych audio visual interaction and painting exhibition
2015: Carcass Canvases at The Monastery; exhibition, Devon (UK)
2014: ‘Cost Effective – the Value of Life is Priceless’ Subway Gallery, Paddington, London (UK)
2014: Never Alone with a Drone’ photo collage work exhibited Chelsea Arts Club, London (UK)
2014: ‘Marthas Pool of Life’ photograph for the David Lynch Foundation, exhibited London (UK)
2014: ‘Use Your Body’, photographic installation, Blacks Club, London (UK) 2014: ‘The People are the City’, photographs, Notting Hill Carnival, London (UK)
2014: ‘Insurrection’, diptych painting hung at the Mark Hix restaurant, Bankside, London (UK)
2013: “Breaking and Repairing’, beach performance and short film with Karolina Nieduza; video installed at JW3, London (UK)
2013: ‘This Human Beast – That Eats Itself’Exhibiting Carcass Canvases and Painting Performance audio/visual with Paz Caplin; Cock n’ Bull Gallery, Tramshed, London (UK)
2012: ‘Fox’, script for short film, video installation, London (UK)
2012: ‘Nature Girl Save the World’, beach performance and text work, Devon (UK)
2012: ‘Boxed Baby’ novel and TV film script – in production
2011: The Last Period with BLUD ZER0 Collective; The Vagina as Autonomous Zone, CAZ Project Space, published; Penzance (UK)
2011: Album Cover Cover Version; Painting Performance, short film, installation; Sheffield, (UK)

2011: ‘LoopyPerformanceThing’, audio visual painting performance with Nick Franglen; filmed and projected by Mario Cavalli; Frome, Somerset, (UK)

2010: Luxor Art Collective with William Orbit and Anna-Mi Fredriksson; Painting performance/ audio/visual/ ballet collaboration, at Shunt London Bridge, London, (UK)

2010: Luxor at The Lowry Museum Painting Performance with William Orit and Anna-Mi; audio/visual and ballet collaboration, Salford Quays, Manchester (UK)

2010: Use Your Body – Use your Vote; national advertising campaign for the General Election encouraging young people to Vote

2010: ‘Love Scars’, short film, directed, edited; protagonist Meredith Ostrom produced London (UK) shown at Cannes Film festival, France (FR)

2010: Painting Performance and exhibition with Mark Chait, Los Angeles (US)

2010: Dysfunction of a Nation’ painting and projection, Saatchi Gallery building curated by Josef Valentino, London (UK)

2010: Worthless Gallery Art Flesh Priceless exhibition & Painting Performance audio/visual with sound artist Jeff Cloke; Covent Garden, London (UK)

2010: ‘Nimrod’; Painting Performance with Poppy Jackson audio Timothy C. Holehouse, London (UK)

2009: Moscow Red Square festival curated by Pablo Ganguli & Liberatum Painting Performance and exhibition (Moscow)

2009: ‘Atomic Forms and Their Corruptions’ painted collages photographic exhibition & performance, Tenderpixel Gallery Cecil Court, published, London (UK)

2009: ‘All Thou Art’ Painting Performance audio & visual and audience interaction; Farringdon, London (UK)

2009: ‘Corridor’, short film, directed, edited; Dingle Film Festival 2009: ‘Bad Habits’, short film, Cannes film festival.

2005: Essays: “Between Chairs from 5 days meeting.” Visualacousmatique performance and paintings ‘Art Action’ with Tony Moore and Josep Vallribera. Limited Edition. Edicions H Jenninger publishing, La Pobla de Benefassa. (C)

2005: ‘Opera Paese £1.3m’ painting exhibited Home House, London

2003: “24 Hours.” Opera Paese Gallery, Rome. (I) 24 Hour durational Painting Performance & Installation.

2003: Cologne, Germany The Air of Virgins & Philistines performance and Graffiti Wall in gallery

2003: ‘Deep Sleep’; video installation, Devon (UK)
2002: ‘My Flesh; My Canvas’ Performance, Dartington, Devon, (UK)

2002: “Mea Culpa.” Gables Yard Gallery, Norwich. (UK)Visualacousmatique work. Painting Performance

2002: “ABRACADABRA -I will create as I speak.’ text performance and mark making with Tony Moore & Chris Sacker. Dartington, (UK)

2002: “Work made at the Point of Creation.” Action with Chris Sacker; Dartington College of Arts. (UK)

2002: ‘Man and Nature’ performance with Chris Sacker, Dumfrish, Scotland (UK)
2002: Sound studio recordings with Tony Moore and Jeff Cloke
2001: ‘Castle’ action and performance with Chris sacker and Pete McPhail, Scotland (UK) 2001: ‘Self Made’, performance & short film RE the homeless; Hong Kong (CN)
2001: Exit & Spontaneity; performance festival circumstantially via Helsinki (FI)

2001: “Say what you Think’, short film, Liverpool, performed, assis. Editor; shown at Liverpool film festival (UK)

2001: Red in Tooth and Claw’; video installation and sound work, directed, edite; Dartinton (UK)

2001: The Nature of Illusion in Real Life’, text and video installation Everyman theatre, Liverpool (UK)

2000: Breathing Whole’; performance and video installation; Dartington (UK)

2000: ‘I had a Dream last night and it looked Nothing like a Dream’; short film and installation, Dartington, (UK)

2000: Graduals photograph exhibition, Dartingon College, Exeter (UK)