Joseph Loughborough is, he says, an artist who is influenced by the human form and condition. It’s something you can sense when looking at his work. A kind of abstract portraiture!
His latest show in Brighton’s famous ‘Art of Treason‘ gallery is his eighth solo outing having previously showcased in London, Antwerp, France, Berlin, London and California. It’s in the gallery that we are meeting now yet it’s the first time I’ve really managed to see his work up close.
Originally from Portsmouth he has moved around! Living in Brighton, London, Paris and most recently Berlin. That’s where he’s been for the past six years prior to returning back to London a few months ago. It was an “awesome place to live” he tells me although he says he had only planned to stay there for a year. Somehow he says, that turned into another five. “The art scene to live as an artist is amazing! So many creative people buzzing about.”
I ask him about the influence of his home city! Portsmouth he says “is filled with so many fascinating old creeks and boatyards. The decaying ramshackle nature of these places has defiantly bled its way into the work I make. The derelict navel housing estates in the surrounding towns have also always been a source of inspiration and nostalgia.”
OF RUST
It’s this influence which has seeped into his current work. Entitled ‘Of Rust’, the show he tells me was based around “personifications of old rusting merchant vessels sinking into the mud of Portsmouth harbour.” Looking at his work I wouldn’t perhaps have made the connection. But then looking again at the figurative representations he has portrayed perhaps there is something there.
“I always work well working in a series” he tells me. “When one is created it begets another exploring a different facet of the same aesthetic. To create a show like this I find something new that I like and roll with it.”
Joseph Loughborough was interviewed over email on 9 October 2018. His exhibition ‘Of Rust’ showcased at the Art of Treason Gallery in Brighton from 5-19 October 2018. You can follow Joseph’s work by checking out his instagram here or his sketchbook blog here.
JOSEPH LOUGHBOROUGH PHOTO GALLERY
