Forecast: Patrick Dagg
Patrick Dagg’s practice diverges from traditional forms of painting and sculpture, instead embracing a collage and symbolism-based language akin to the human experience. The artist’s instinctive mixed-media works reflect the realities of our imperfect and data-saturated world. Dagg’s raw works playfully question how we value art and create meaning within our lives.
Image credit: Patrick Dagg, It'll All End Up In Tears, 2021, oil, enamel, crayon, paper, canvas and neon on canvas, 138 x 112 cm. Photos: Henry Trumble. Courtesy the artist and James Makin Gallery, Melbourne
What is the role of symbolism within your work?
My use of symbolism has grown out of what was primarily an abstract painting practice, a necessity to address certain themes such as death, grief, love, mental health and substance abuse. I’m interested in the idea of placeholders or metaphors to discuss personal histories – Bart Simpson as self, Homer as father, for instance. I love tagging culture, graffiti, bubble tags, scratched names and monikers. They mess with the mainstream. I want to turn images and marks into talismans that become part of a larger vernacular. In broad terms, I’m happy to take from everything. I’m not particularly interested in authenticity or originality.
How did your experiences working in an auction house influence the direction of your creative practice?
I started working at Mossgreen Auctions at the same time I started my Masters at VCA. It was inspiring talking to lecturers about artists like Howard Arkley and then handling their works up close; looking at the back, the stickers, the provenance. Working in the secondary art market was deeply interesting, it fostered my love of decorative arts. I got to touch some incredible things – from Chinese porcelain to First Nations artifacts, contemporary art to Russian icons and antique furniture. It prompted me to subvert high art language and aesthetics.
Your works appear quite gestural and intuitive …
Working intuitively excites me. Despite five years of study, I’m self-taught and disinterested in technical ability. I like the punk aesthetic and have tried not to learn too much. The crown on King (For Phillip), for instance, ...Subscribe to read this article in full
