Paul Pirie
Mexicola
Delving further into the magical, alien universe that he created in his first and second solo exhibitions with Kick Gallery, Paul Pirie continues to expand on and develop his pictorial inner realm. Home to otherworldly wizard demons, alien battle scenes, and evil powers, the characters of Pirie’s highly imaginative work in Mexicola include gaunt, winged, scaly monsters, laser shrimps, and mutilated demons that fly over a world of spiritual pyramids and residential volcanoes, battling for supremacy and the protection of their homeworld.
Childishly mathematic, the simple and organic, freely drawn shapes exude a spontaneous, abstract quality, reminiscent of homemade comic books and hand drawn computer games. Drawing on pre-colonial Central and North American cultural influences, the patterned compositions create a naive juxtaposition between shapes of colour and pattern, and line and negative space. The colour and pattern selection is strongly influenced by the art and theology of the Maya and Aztec people, while the hand crafted style of the works and finely executed patterning create a style reminiscent of crude yet meticulous etching.
Paul Pirie first exhibited with Kick Gallery in 2007 as a part of a group exhibition, Devil in the Detail [2007]. Since that time Pirie has had two solo exhibitions with Kick, Mountain Rituals [May/June 2009], and The Shoguns Decapitator [December 2009]. Pirie has also been a part of numerous group exhibitions in recent years as well as being a part of the Kick Gallery Studios in the second half of last year alongside other Kick artists, Michael Portley, Damian FitzGerald and Jewels Stevens.