TORRANCE SKINNER
TOO GONE IN ME NOGGIN

20th – 25th January 2010
Preview:  Wednesday 20th January, 6 – 9 pm

image by: TORRANCE SKINNER
http://web.me.com/torranceskinner/Site/Welcome.html

The Brick Lane Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of original illustrative works issued from the book “Too gone in me noggin” by Torrance Skinner and presented for the first time on the occasion of the launch of his work.

The dual aspect of this week-long exhibition is the occasion to meet the author – who is also the artist behind the book’s illustrations – and to view the original artworks from the 120-page comic-style publication.

“Too gone in me noggin” presents us with a captivating illustration-based narrative mixing a personified fiction and a micro-reality, centring on the effects of drug-use on the human mind and body. The story unfolds with personified versions of each biological component, cell, chemical and neuron playing key characters in the elaborate and adventure-filled story of how drugs affect our internal system.

Skinner imagines the human mind as a circuit-board and sets the scenes with these heroes and villains interacting with one another – messages and actions are communicated more or less violently, dubiously, forcefully, curiously or persuasively – in order to illustrate the inner-workings and programming’s of the impact of drug-addiction on our mental and physical state.

The complex and abstract chain-reactions, inner-thoughts and emotions attached to this chemical addiction is explained with visual simplicity and is enhanced by an educational approach to help create awareness without the need to dictate or judge. Throughout the book, various definitions are included as a side-line in order to explain key-words such as “will”, “wisdom”, “determination”, “and addiction” as a reminder of the very real and serious subject matter despite the fictitious overtones.

The narrative and ethos of “Too gone in me noggin” is inspired by the oriental philosophy of Ying and Yang – the characters each address and manifest their own agendas, each pulling our will-power in different directions to either resist or succumb – and representing the inner-struggle between good and bad. Further inspirations lie in the thoughts and writings of Thomas Edison (inventor of the light-bulb) who believed in the theory that the human mind is composed of a myriad of living entities.

As Skinner explains “(it takes) one person to lie and one person to listen” to cloud the mind and ends this biological and spiritual journey with the morale: “The longer you look, the more you see and this is what keeps you on that level”.

Six years ago, Torrance Skinner started the long process of putting together this book. After a series of interviews and discussions on recreational use, he started collecting information on the subject in a bid to simply and effectively educate the young and the less young. It became quickly apparent that this “taboo” subject should be addressed with a touch of creativity and visual-impact in order to keep the message clear.

Skinner’s hand-drawn images are at once quietly simple and graphically powerful and hint to a world of “super hero”-style comic book images.

The influence of the Ying and Yang philosophy is also reflected in the very graphic and edgy black and white images, occasionally punctuated with a touch of colour – and reminiscent of the bold and elegant style of Japanese calligraphy. This mix between eastern and western styles, as well as the themes of science versus fiction, result in a world of morphing contrasts where, despite the opposing poles of the black and the white, the Ying and the Yang, Skinner manages to convey an intricate and abstract world of greys, in-betweens, dilemmas and real-life scenarios.

THE BRICK LANE GALLERY
196 Brick Lane | London | E1 6SA | +44 (o)207 729 9721
info@thebricklanegallery.com
Open Daily 1 - 6pm