Austin Chaston

I have recently graduated my fine art degree from Sentral St Martin's. I am currently living and working in London.

Artist Statement

Through painting, my intention is to produce a dialogue that questions the representation of image and reality. This status of reality or un-reality suspends my interest in the boundaries between representation and non-representation in painting.

My paintings stem from my particular engagement with found imagery. While rooted in themes of recollection and memory, my work attempts to create a sense of distance and indifference, which questions the comprehensibility of representational forms evident in my work.

A theme or narrative is often a significant factor over my paintings, but my works do not necessarily ‘say’ anything, however at the same time they do not hide anything either. The meaning behind my work is often hard to pin down and the inability to fully comprehend the narrative behind my work emphasizes a sense of presence and absence, being and nothingness.

Visually, my work will often depict seemingly arbitrary scenes where the familiar becomes unsettling and the importance of things is often disregarded. The human existence in my work is often only suggested or altogether ab...

Central St Martin's
BA Fine Art
1st class BA (Hons) Fine Art