ransom note - the sound of music Print

Born in London in 1988, Avery Walsh was exposed to the contemporary art movement in London and the success of the Young British Artists (YBAs) at a very early age. He attended University of the Arts, London (UAL) where he experimented with science, medicine and art. His exploration was influenced by Damien Hirst, Marc Quinn, Dr Von Hagen and the exhibitions at the Wellcome Collection. In his last year at UAL, he started working part-time in luxury retail where the vision of his art started to change. His initial 2019 collection of ‘a time to kill, a time to heal’ combined the bright colours of luxury brands and preserved mould. The artistic process of this collection looked at stimulating our desire and subconscious want for luxury items. In a private exhibition, he had a positive response from his clients and now he creates limited paintings each year following this concept. With the explosion of contemporary, pop and street art being digested and regenerated he wanted to create his own concept of art called “anti-pop art”. His collection “Ransom Note” became the winner of 2021 artist of the year with Nova Art and was displayed in all their galleries. Developing his anti-pop art concept, Walsh is now working in his studio creating a sculpture collection with Mickey Mouse and Jeff Koons being his antagonists. Walsh wants to explore the falseness of popular culture apparent in pop art, raising controversial and political themes through his pieces. Growing up with dyslexia, Walsh noticed at a young age that he saw the world differently from others and as such had frustrations that others could not see things as he did. Art became the way to present his world. A significant moment in his artistic life came whilst studying at the Chelsea College of Art and Design. Being surrounded by like-minded people allowed Walsh the space to explore new territories in his art, rather than literal interpretations. However, after a year his frustrations grew and he wanted to explore new areas, he moved to Wimbledon College of Art to study design for performance. Finally, Walsh felt he had full control of his artistic direction. Today, Walsh works out of his studio in South West London.