Fear Yourself 

 

image: Tony Knox

Musician and artist Daniel Johnston's career has spanned over 20 years and has gained cult following after an appearance on MTV in 1985 and he has gone onto influence bands such as Sonic Youth, Sparklehorse, The Flaming Lips and Yo la Tengo. For this show Red Wire exhibited a range of Johnston's work spanning nearly 30 years 

Johnston suffers from bi-polar disease, schizophrenia and manic depression and has been continually admitted to various mental institutions, which has helped heighten his cult status in both music and arts circles- he is now considered one of the icons of outsider art and music.

Red Wire's presentation of works containing the repeated themes of imaginary worlds and figures that are on display, depicted a slice of Daniels imagination expressed through his drawings. The Devil and the balance between good and evil are the overwriting content behind the images. It shows a world in which there are battles between good and evil, with a pathos, simplicity and undeniable humour.

 

above and below images: Tony Knox