Roxy Topia & Paddy Gould, Medicine Cabinet

Medicine Cabinet

This piece is from a series of 12 domestic still lives that were part of the show ’Pause for Living’ held in 2021 post covid, across 2 venues in merseyside. This series of ink drawings featured in the Autumn/Winter edition of the show. The work reflected on nomadic yearnings, handed down aspirations, nostalgic longing, self sufficiency and daily routines; as well as the values that are advertised to us by objects in the home.

44cm x 32cm (framed)

Ink on Bristol Board

Across the 15 years of Topia and Gould’s experiment with collaboration, they’ve sustained a cross disciplinary practice centred around painted sculpture and drawing. Humour and personal narratives are important elements which they use to engage in dialogues about how our intimate connections with people and culture both shape and distort our perceptions of reality. Their work examines the tensions that arise from existing in a state of simultaneous embodiment (physical presence) and disembodiment (digital or virtual existence).  Current work takes the form of painted additive reliefs and sculptures, initiated with imaginative drawings and crafted from MDF, aluminium, and polymer clay. Covered in various painted styles they draw inspiration from digital collages that combine diverse sources, including natural textures and sci-fi imagery. The component-based approach gives them a slightly manufactured quality, reminiscent of vinyl graphics, medical models, and toys, balanced with a friendly, animated character.  Topia and Gould meticulously handcraft, assemble, and paint their works, fostering a localised and intimate collaboration. Through this hands-on approach, they merge conscious and unconscious creative processes, allowing the interplay of shared agency and the arbitrary, often stemming from spontaneous or unconscious sources. It's within this blend, mirroring the arbitrary nature of our world, that new meanings emerge.  Artist couple Roxy Topia and Paddy Gould have been working together since 2008 and are based in Merseyside, UK. Periodically they collaborate with others, often on independent publications through their press Pink Sands Studio, founded in 2018.

This work is featured as part of the Convenience Store at the Manchester Contemporary in 2023.