Pareidolia Painting

Rory Biddulph (b.1986 UK) lives and works in Berlin. I gained my MA from The Slade School of Fine Art, London (2013-2015), having previously gained my BA from Newcastle University (2006-2010). Exhibition highlights include the Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Prize 2021 (shortlisted), the John Moores Painting Prize 2021 exhibitor, The Clifford Chance Purchase Prize (2016 - shortlisted), the XL Catlin Art Prize (2016 - shortlisted), Durch, s-l-i-c-e Berlin (with Oliver Lunn), Fracture, Lewisham Art House (with Katie Hubbell), and All Have Noses, Fat Relic (with Rhys Thomas). Between 2020-2022 I founded and co-ran Slice, a curatorial initiative providing artists and curators with the opportunity to exhibit in Berlin @sliceberlin. My recent work depicts subjects who are marked by their characters. They have experienced struggles, are outsiders or anti-heroes, reflecting a desire for recognition and understanding. These subjects are usually known archetypes, such as office workers, bodybuilders, and circus performers, as well as objects and animals that stand as analogies for various aspects of human experience. As someone who lives and paints in Berlin, but was raised in rural England, the sense of place is prominent in the images. Whether a subject is at odds with their surroundings or a reflection of them, the setting becomes a way to emphasize their character. And as the subjects are also in ways, extensions of myself, the places they inhabit tend to be places that have a strong personal connection, such as the south coast of England, the forests in the Midlands, or the tramways in Berlin.