Ethan Logan,
     Visual Artist

Having matured in a new age of information, I am interested in exploring the nature of social media, and its impact on individuals, culture, and external media. As the new currency of attention permeates and pollutes the networks of social interaction online, new forms of imagery designed to perpetrate this new economy. Most of my work centres around utilising these images in order to invite viewers to join me in questioning the content we consume.

 

For the past four years I have been studying and honing my practice at Glasgow School of Art through their BA Painting and Printmaking programme. In this time my practise has matured well beyond what I believed I was capable of. Currently, my main focus is on a manner of painting which utilises found images from a variety of social media content. As someone who has spent a large portion of their life consuming this content, I am often intrigued by those bizarre images that can break through the walls of your feed. Sometimes these can be uncanny comical exploitations of a pet, other times these could be an unprompted display of a gruesome accident from a nondescript far off place. The images I chose to use are carefully pulled from the noise, only after meeting the relevant criteria. Conceptually, I like for the images I use to each communicate specific curiosities of the online experience. ​However, practically most content swimming through our feed is very difficult to capture in the manner I do, while still communicating its own nature. 

 

My borrowed images once selected are printed and pasted on to board before being worked into with oil paints. This results in an image that lies somewhere between the handmade and photography, creating an intriguing space in between. This space is where I would like to leave the viewer to be curious and question the image before them. Out with painting, my practice consists of various means of media experimentation, primarily working in expanded collage.  My collage work is the longest running arm of my practice, it is a space and medium that allows for a great deal of experimentation. Through this I have developed a number of mini-techniques/distortions that I employ regularly. One such being acetone transfers. I hope in the close future to begin working in installation and immersive media.