INTEROCEPTION
MILES JOHNSTON “Interoception” is the essence of our internal states of thought and feeling, covering a broad range of sensory experiences emanating from places in our bodies that we don’t always fully understand. This lesser-known sense goes beyond the physical and into the deeply emotional, affecting self-perception and ultimately placing emphasis on our metaphysics. Why do we feel empty inside? Why do our minds conjure desolate and desperate thoughts on loop as we go to bed? Why can some create a self-perception that contradicts reality? All of these subverted questions build a platform for Miles Johnston to set up his compositions and explore the deviations between our internal states of consciousness and the complex, underlying reality of our life situations. Miles Johnston’s dysmorphic portraits revel in the lucid and surreal. A softer drawing and painting sensibility allows for the pieces to rest easy in dream-like moments. The works tell stories of transformative moments in the lives of all of us, moments that can stand as turning points or lessons of life.
INTEROCEPTION
MARCH 31ST - APRIL 21ST, 2018
Compositionally, Johnston’s artwork features softer, more exaggerated humans, simply depicted as complex beings, opening up and revealing a differing self-image beneath an outer skin, and beyond that further interpretations of the human body Johnston’s artwork plays similarly to the habit of interoception; his subjects do not represent an absolute form of human anatomy, and instead focus on metaphorical anatomies. Each individual piece is a statement on how we feel in particularly transformative moments, day to day, on a more intimate level. Each creation reflects the human tendency to question our nature as more than just flesh and bones and to suggest that behind all of the superficial murk and confusion, we can all be stuck in temporary crises and work together to break out of the loop. “I chose the title for the show to be Interoception because of the disconnect between the representations of the internal state of the body and their much more complex underlying reality. My goal as an artist has been to use the symbol of the human body to try and communicate in this metaphorical language we all intuitively possess. I want to try and represent the transformative moments of our lives, as we feel them in the moment. When you look at the works presented here, try to use them as a mirror to see yourself in, every work is an attempt for me to reach out across the seemingly unpassable divide between our inner worlds and suggest that underneath all the superficial surface, we are more alike than different.”
BRAIN DRAIN BY: MILES JOHNSTON GRAPHITE ON MOLESKINE, 2018 21 X 13 CENTIMETERS
GUILT BY: MILES JOHNSTON GRAPHITE ON STONEHENGE, 2018 18 X 25 CENTIMETERS
INITIATE BY: MILES JOHNSTON GRAPHITE ON STONEHENGE, 2018 25 X 18 CENTIMETERS
SURRENDER BY: MILES JOHNSTON GRAPHITE ON STONEHENGE, 2018 17 X 16 CENTIMETERS
LOSS BY: MILES JOHNSTON GRAPHITE ON STONEHENGE, 2018 23 X 18 CENTIMETERS
VERTICAL MISALIGNMENT BY: MILES JOHNSTON GRAPHITE ON MOLESKINE, 2018 21 X 12 CENTIMETERS
HORIZONTAL MISALIGNMENT BY: MILES JOHNSTON GRAPHITE ON MOLESKINE, 2018 21 X 13 CENTIMETERS
MODE OF IGNORING BY: MILES JOHNSTON GRAPHITE ON MOLESKINE, 2018 13 X 13 CENTIMETERS
OPALESCENT DAYDREAM BY: MILES JOHNSTON GRAPHITE ON MOLESKINE, 2018 21 X 13 CENTIMETERS
TUNNEL VISION BY: MILES JOHNSTON GRAPHITE ON MOLESKINE, 2018 21 X 13 CENTIMETERS
EVIL EYE BY: MILES JOHNSTON GRAPHITE ON MOLESKINE, 2018 21 X 13 CENTIMETERS
THOUGHT LOOPS BY: MILES JOHNSTON GRAPHITE ON MOLESKINE, 2018 21 X 13 CENTIMETERS
HOLLOW BY: MILES JOHNSTON GRAPHITE ON MOLESKINE, 2018 21 X 13 CENTIMETERS
RINGS BY: MILES JOHNSTON GRAPHITE ON MOLESKINE, 2018 21 X 13 CENTIMETERS
SPIRAL EYES BY: MILES JOHNSTON GRAPHITE ON MOLESKINE, 2018 21 X 13 CENTIMETERS
INTROSPECTION BY: MILES JOHNSTON GRAPHITE ON MOLESKINE, 2018 13 X 13 CENTIMETERS
AGONY BY: MILES JOHNSTON OIL ON LINEN, 2018 37 X 48 INCHES
RETROSPECTION BY: MILES JOHNSTON OIL ON LINEN, 2018 33 X 20.5 INCHES
HIVEMIND BY: MILES JOHNSTON OIL ON LINEN, 2018 27.5 X 15.5 INCHES
DUALISM BY: MILES JOHNSTON OIL ON LINEN, 2018 71 X 49 INCHES
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