Wayne Youle | it's not you, it's me...: {Suite} Ponsonby
When the outside noise and day to day goings-on don't deliver the ignition or inspiration they have in the past, or no doubtably will again do in the future, I tend to switch focus on myself... my past, my stories, my upbringing, my passion and my “wishful thinking” become a starting point for 'making’ that never leaves you.
Wayne Youle is a shrewd social commentator whose subversive, often humorous art defies categorisation. He works across many disciplines and engages with a variety of themes, from popular culture to cultural stereotypes and Maori/Pakeha relationships.
The simple forms of Youle's crisp, deftly made artworks often belie their complex underpinnings and the new works in it's not you, it's me… are playful arrangements of laser cut, powder coated, aluminium shapes. Drawing from a variety of influences including other artists (the work Bloom recalls Andy Warhol's flowers), the series incorporates cultural symbols ranging from the sacred to the mundane.
Whilst incorporating popular imagery and symbolism, the work is also intimately self-referential, drawing on the artist's past, his personal narratives, upbringing, aspirations and inspirations. By melding his own "wishful thinking" with his artistic vision, a new path for making reveals itself. Each silhouette serves as a piece of the puzzle in a broader narrative tableau. Together, they compose a story that traverses the artist's lived experiences and his own exploration of his identity.
