A little Sangria won't hurt

*Framed in black with a silver front*

In an attempt to speculate and provide foresight into the way humans will live in the future, the anatomical fragments in my paintings live in a liminal non-space, agnostic of time or place. This transitional state is deliberately marked by ambiguous diffused backgrounds of colour and texture and juxtaposed with incomprehensible projections of shadows and light sources. Due to rapid technological acceleration, a prediction can be made that in the distant future, we will perhaps be merely by-products of scientific advancements manifested in a liminal space that is neither an enclosed space nor is it an infinite illusionary realm. One can say that it could potentially be a hybrid of both.

Movement is also a core theme I try to induce in the subject of my paintings — the arm is about to twist, weight starting to shift, the next reaction of the body about to come to life. By reducing the background of each work to an unrecognisable context, the movement of the body and subject on a two-dimensional lane is emphasised.

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Born in Hong Kong, Bryan Mew is an Australian Chinese artist who has been shortlisted as a finalist for multiple Australian art prizes including the 2021 Lloyd Rees Memorial Youth Art Awards, 2021 National Capital Art Prize and 2022 Lethbridge 20000 Art Prize. He has also been a finalist in the Australian Bluethumb art prize in 2021 and 2023. Mew has furthermore participated in shows at Melbourne’s Brunswick Street Gallery, the Red Gallery, and The Other Art Fair in Melbourne, Sydney and Los Angeles. Furthermore, he was featured in Australia’s Art Edit Magazine in 2022.

Mew's current art practice was inspired by his 2 years living in Japan, where he learnt about the origins of the Japanese Kanji writing system that dates back over 3000 years ago. He believes the study of these characters allows the very essence and meaning of humanity in ancient times to be revived, relived, transporting ancient traditions to the present. Recently, Mew has participated in a group exhibition in Tokyo, and a solo exhibition based on his art residency in Nara, Japan.