My art school's VLE had gone almost unnoticed by me - I used it only occasionally for getting project briefs. However... I have found a new use for it. My art lecturers actually know some cool artists and put them up for us. Who knew? One of the latest is John Kenn Mortensen, post-it note master illustrator and animation whiz. His art is creepy, sinister, completely obscure, and awesome. Oh, and also these works are tiny. The detail on them would drive me insane...
I really like the image below, it reminds me of a kind of creepy version of the Greek myth of the Pleiades, the seven sisters, daughters of titan Atlas and the sea-nympth Pleione. There are varying stories regarding the myth: one, that after their father was forced to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, Orion began to pursue the sisters, so that Zeus turned each into doves, and then into stars so they could comfort their father; two, that they all committed suicide out of grief for their father's fate. Either way, a constellation of stars is now named after them. The illustrations also remind me of a book I inherited from my mother, 'Faeries', which was a thoroughly unsuitable book for a young child. It is full of awful myths and stories regarding goblins who dye their headbands with human blood, faeries who visit you in the night and tangle your hair and give you bad luck, and washerwomen who if you pass washing your clothes, you know you will die in battle (they also look a bit like the figures below). Cheery. But it has great watercolour illustrations that I intend to post at some point.
There's more of his work on his blog, the Don Kenn Gallery (link). Take a look at his graduation film, 'Fishing with Spinoza' - it's strangely funny. Unfortunately the exhibition of all his post-its was in Copenhagen, and it only lasted til eary March. Here's hoping he does one in the UK soon.
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