Luke Tarpey

The work is ultimately about imagination; creating a world to escape into, letting go of pre-conceived ideas and living in fantastical places where anything is possible. Constructing narratives and structures that celebrate our individuality and sense of place. The work can be both serious and playful but will always honour the transportive power of art as therapy.

Luke’s process starts by playing around with shapes and photographs until he finds a starting point where he feels a structure has begun to appear. These structures are as much portraits as they are buildings so giving them a personality is vitally important – naturally friends, family and daily life play a huge role in helping to shape the anthropomorphic elements in the work.

The work evolves slowly over a period of weeks or months with each change in the composition bringing new challenges in terms of balance, meaning and personality. Luke never really sets out with an end goal in sight and lets the structure evolve naturally which helps give each piece its own unique feel.