James Topple

I graduated in 2008 from the University of Plymouth.
My early art was primarily print making (mono print drawing) and live art / performance art. After graduation I exhibited and performed widely in England and then in South Korea where I lived for five years. My work was satirical, humorous, challenging, and centred on the concept of the postmodern self. It was autobiographical and sometimes incorporated alter egos. Eventually it was difficult to know where the line was that separated my life from my art. It became intrusive and destructive. In 2012 during a street performance in Hogdae for the Korea Experimental Art Festival (KEAF) I faked my death and was rushed off in an Ambulance. I then went through the arduous task of trying to kill my online presence.
I returned to the UK and I became a teacher. I didn't make any art for five years.

In 2019 I decided to start afresh, completely change my artistic practice, and become a painter.

My paintings draw inspiration from Asian Ink Wash painting where the aim is to capture the essence of the subject rather than accurate physical depiction. It is an instinctual, expressive way of painting that wrestles between forceful haphazard gestures and play of chance, to delicate controlled...

BA Fine Art
PGCE Secondary

Various exhibitions from 2008-2016 in the UK and in South Korea including: The Exter Phoenix, The Broomhill Art Hotel, Rogue Project Space, The Cube Cinema, The Siuter Art Space, Yogiga, Nami Island.

Since 2022
Royal Berkshire Hospital
Reading Riverside Museum
Henley Old Fire Station