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The Goth subculture evolved out of the early 1980’s punk rock scene in England, and as a term was first used in an interview on the BBC by the manager of Joy Division, describing the band as ‘Gothic’ compared to the mainstream. It has since been embraced in large measure by suburban youth across North America, in part because its characteristics – depression, withdrawal, estrangement, fantasy – effectively mirror typical feelings of teenage angst and alienation. Not only does Brad Phillips paint portraits of these sullen teenagers, he also, importantly, paints their surroundings, often in grisaille, so that the overall atmosphere is one of grey, smoggy, disaffection that in turn reflects the dark, gloomy nature of Goth. Hauntingly beautiful watercolours of empty ball courts bear titles like Where We Died and Scene From an Early Death, while other images allude to films, bands like "Siouxsie and the Banshees" and mythical figures such as the Egyptian tomb prowler Anubis, each one of which is an important part of these kids’ Gothic beliefs. The artist takes an outsider’s perspective, capturing the simultaneous ‘allure and threat of nature’ in his landscapes. Working from a cinematic viewpoint reminiscent in ways of Luc Tuymans, Phillips often emphasizes the voyeurism implicit in the separation caused by the camera, thus documenting an often-misunderstood phenomenon that has arguably evolved from the failed utopia of what was once the American Dream.
www.bradphillips.ca
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