Joe Machine

I was born in the naval port of Chatham, Kent and grew up amongst the pubs and drinking establishments of the cockney riviera. Violence defined my childhood, in the towns I lived in drugs and alcohol addiction were endemic. The first time I saw a beer glass smashed in someone’s face, I was five years old.In primary school, I began making drawings of my experiences. This was a process which continued over a period of thirty years, through crime, detention and release. I used the method of externalisation through the visual image as a way of understanding my own vulnerability and freeing myself from the destructive behaviour which dominated my life.
During my teenage years, I began making paintings and constructing the frames from wood. I used paint economically, working primarily in acrylic with six basic colours and mixing them. I began what became an autobiography in the form of painting, using only my direct experiences in crime, sex and violence, portraying the sailors, pimps and prostitutes I associated with.
In 1999, I became involved with Stuckism, the first Remodernist art group and since then, I have exhibited my paintings in every major Stuckist show since, both nationally and internationally. From this period to the ...