Simon Meiklejohn

Hereford, Herefordshire, United Kingdom

About Simon Meiklejohn

Simon Meiklejohn is an artist, engineer and maker, his sculpture is widely exhibited and sort after, he has produced numerous public pieces and private commissions, and is highly regarded in the museum world for his specialist object mounts and display structures. He is the founder and director of Vulgar Earth Artists Collective who present topical exhibitions on social, political and environmental issues. Artist statement 2017 - Whimsy, pure and fine. Art performs many subtle and dramatic roles in our society. It is a varying and multifaceted thing, and its forms overlap, compliment and sometimes oppose each other. I too am not one fixed and constant thing, I have different heads, moods and motivations that influence my work. Of these many forms I see areas that I move between. There is a whimsy, a humour and a child like playfulness, that sometimes takes the lead. In it’s way I feel it is very important, we should not be too grown up and serious all of the time, we should have moments of silliness and be acquainted with the child’s innocence and purity, I think it is important for perspective and scale, and indeed mental health. There is also what I might refer to as pure art, that is, the pursuit of beauty, in all it’s aspects; form, colour, texture, movement and sound. These are the things that enrich our lives, quietly in the background, they ask nothing of us, they force no agenda. They are the glimpses of beauty that are caught in the corner of your eye. They are the tranquility that you do not realise you are watching, while your mind is miles away, either dealing with a problem or being momentarily and happily vacant. And then there is that, emotive, noble and ignoble thing we call fine art. I define it; if this is possible, as art that wishes to impart meaning, topic or emotion. It is a mixture of the whimsy and the pure, with politics and philosophy, propaganda and advertising, psychiatry, psychology and sociology, ideology and humanity. It is discussion and argument, postulation and ridicule, it plays on emotion, it questions concepts, it underlines and highlights, it is moot. In this last area is my passion, in this area I am most complete, every aspect of me is encompassed here, as an artist, as a maker, and as a human being. This is where I explore my concerns, my frustrations and my observations, but this would not be possible in isolation, without the level and balance of the other areas I also occupy. For me the point of art is not intrinsic with topic, form, style or motivation, but is an opportunity to brake from the everyday and the functional. It is an excuse to stand and contemplate. It is a distraction, that allows us to return to our lives with fresh eyes and good humour. www.form-and-function.co.uk www.vulgarearth.com Facebook - S.E.Meiklejohn Artist Engineer Maker

Education:

BA hons degree in fine art sculpture - Cleveland 1997
Diploma in Foundation studies in art and design. Hereford 1994
EITB regulated Apprenticeship (4 years) as a multi skilled Mechanical engineer, certificated with HEGTS- 1985 – 1989City and guilds, and BTEC levels 1, 2, and 3 in Mechanical Engineering – 1984 - 1989