Mannequins have become a substitute / placeholder / analogue for the human form through large parts of my work since the first one appeared mysteriously at home one day in 2021.

My partner - in both ZWRP & life - had brought it home and wanted it converted into a decorative standard lamp - which I eventually completed after some trial and error.

At the time I was also working on a piece for an upcoming exhibition on the theme of transhumanism and the AI singularity displacement narrative. I was looking at this headless mannequin and thought that it could become a motif to communicate the conceptual premise of the piece.

Although this wasn't the first time that I had been creating on the theme of AI and humanity - "AI vs HUMAN" was projected onto the Berlin skyline in July 2021 as part of the Gargantuakünst exhibition - it was the first time I was using a mannequin as a 'human replacement' - which seemed to resonate with the themes of the work.

Within a month the resulting digital piece 'HOMO TRANSRETRO' was not only a featured exhibit at the Rare Effect #3 Exhibition in Lisbon, but had also been displayed publicly on the big screen at the city's main Cais Do Sodré metro hub.

I started collecting more mannequins...the more alien and futurist the better - but broken, distressed and damaged examples of these were the best to fit with an Ozymandian / cyberpunk aesthetic.

Soon the studio was full of them. I began to incorporate them more intentionally within my artistic output as human analogues within a series of work - under the working title 'Displacement Di$co' - that focused on the Promethean tension between humanity and technology.

During a fluctuating and varied career journey, the ideas and output that represent the ZWRP/Zeitwarp concept continued to develop in an inverse relationship with any definition of a conventional vocation or career pathway.

Eventually, it took over completely.

This was probably always going to happen.

Finally committing to the life of a full-time creative turned out to be the endgame of a multiverse of convoluted career path spaghetti.

The penultimate and yet ultimately decisive step was a decade long odyssey into the labyrinth of the furniture business - where utopian visions collide with the realities of uniformity, mass production and climate impact.

It triggered a fascination and hunger for meaning, self-expression and sustainability - leading directly to experiments reworking existing objects and artefacts to represent subjective perspectives, observations and experiences.

The work eventually coalesced around ideas and themes that reflected my lived experience and evolving philosophy to the point where the two were inseparable.

Then you just have to go ahead and make it.

Given the lack of any kind of formal art education or training, everything that I produce would normally be categorised as ‘outsider art’ or perhaps more accurately 'art brut' (raw art) within the standard art lexicon.

I prefer the term ‘Garage Art’.

Each monthly drop includes unique original work - such as a 'Singularity' installation object or Music Graffiti painting - along with a set of limited edition prints and/or merch that will only be available for that month and then discontinued.

Sign up below if you would like to know what's coming and get access.

For physical gallery locations please check your local art emporium to see if it's an 'official ZWRP showroom'. There's only ever one in any given town/city. (One day I'll get around to building a map /search thing...)

If you're a physical gallery and would like to have a chat about showing some ZWRP/Zeitwarp work - then reach out using the contact link at the bottom of the page.