Nathan James' recent solo exhibition in london was titled Pleasure Island in reference to Carlo Collodi's children’s novel "Pinocchio". In the novel, Pleasure Island serves as a haven for wayward children, allowing them to indulge their vices in an environment that is seemingly free of recrimination. However, the truer and more sinister purpose of Pleasure Island is eventually revealed as its curse begins to physically transform the children into donkeys.

With his current work, Nathan James illustrates the convergence of two modern domains: cartoon and plastic and flesh and bone. The boundaries between the two areas are not neat or evenly divided. Instead, they overlap, intersperse and transform each other spatially. The plastic world promises excitement and holidays. With its endless curves of neon, cuts and slashes of bright colour and pretty lights, it offers a virtual gluttony of sensory delights, instant gratification and fulfillment. At the same time, it simultaneously divides, covers and competes for dominance with other elements of the composition. It thereby permanently transforms the youthful, pleasure-seeking human subjects of the paintings along with everything around them

Here, he presents a day-glow matrix that is the antithesis to the modern world envisioned in 1956 by Richard Hamilton, with his principal Pop work “Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing?”. With these paintings James is inferring mass media materialism can indeed fulfill some of their promises of leisure and enjoyment, but at the cost of forfeiting some of the subjects’ humanity.

James uses a combination of techniques, including traditional painting, silk-screen printing, and stenciling to achieve his distinctive works. He finds inspiration from many sources, including trash TV, graphic design, vintage photography, popular magazines and his own passion for youth culture.

Nathan James was born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada in 1979. He has studied at The Ontario College of Art and Design, the dundas valley school of art and McMaster University. His work has been exhibited extensively, with shows throughout North America and Europe including recently being featured in Scope London and Scope New York. He currently lives and works in London, uk.

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