Ode To Joy

Lawrence James Bailey grew up in the post-industrial ruins of 1980’s Britain before studying Fine Art at the Hull School of Art and later at De Ateliers in Amsterdam. His interest in geography, history, theatrical set design, suburban life, religious cults, protest movements and folklore serve as points of reference in his work. People’s relationship with the landscape form a backbone to this work - in particular how individuals use their surrounding environment for hidden, subversive or introverted acts.

Lawrence collects material from his surroundings, which he photographs and combines to make new representations in his studio. In the type of ‘landscape’ that he uses as a source, a kind of human presence is tangible:

‘The border area where the city and the surrounding landscape meet. A kind of no man’s land where hardly anybody goes and where criminal activities take place.’ In a world where people control most of the existing nature, he sees these terrains as the new wilderness. ‘You won’t be eaten up by a wolf, but it can be dangerous there just the same and end up in confrontations.’ ?