RL Taylor is a 29 year old mixed media artist born in Edinburgh and currently living in Dundee.
He has a creative background in writing and print before moving into a fine arts direction, where the work continues to be narrative led. Contemporary Art Practice at Leith School of Art in 2020 was his first studio-based experience before studying Fine Art at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, where he has continued to work in sculpture and video, now focusing on painting.
His painting encompasses portraiture of emotional toil, often combining varying life forms in one figure. Through these works he talks about crossover and amalgamation with other beings as a response to widespread miscommunication and embarrassment.
The work continuously returns thematically to barriers and narcissism; currently dealing with the space between idol and freak, leaning on inspiration from mythological beings, Christianity, conspiracy and limited escapism. It depicts varying symbiotic relationships, sometimes where divine intervention becomes surrealist and absurdist happenstance, aiming to create fictional worlds in which the subjects could only exist.
His upcoming project, Freakshow, is a triptych of freaks under God. Over forming this project he has grown closer to the narrative, departing from the often-hedonistic mindset that spurred his practice into fruition. This work gives the viewer a close-up of our shared lifespan, from mystifying birth to glorious and cathartic funeral, leaving you to personally question these subjects in context with the currency of guilt and proximity to ritual.
Freakshow will be on display at DJCAD's 2024 Degree Show.