Bio / CV

 

Biography

Since the age of 15 years Ian C Pool (HolyGreenCow) has been involved in the music industry. As a singer/songwriter, Pool performed under the creative umbrella of the band name.  Now venturing into the 2D art world, Pool is once again baring his soul under the banner of assumed anonymity.

Taking influence from a wide variety of visual artists has helped forge a unique path. Photographic artists such as Tracey Moffatt and Anne Zahalka are noted, alongside traditional Australian painters Sidney Nolan and Geoffrey Proud. However, there is definitely an homage to filmmakers like Terry Gilliam and even Ed Wood Jr. as well as a nod to new media artists like Banksy and Cyriak. Combined with his musical background and a keen sense of satire, it's from this eclectic melting pot that emerges the stunning visual language of HolyGreenCow.

As HolyGreenCow, Pool is an adept story teller, constructing narratives in a series, somewhat like a singer would construct a concept album.  With a keen sense of the ridiculous, like Frank Zappa’s ‘Joe’s Garage’, and through the employment of cartoon and surreal compositions, like Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”, the work as HolyGreenCow juxtaposes tongue-in-cheek images with powerful concepts to articulate his political critique of contemporary society.  Showing a concern for the world he inhabits, HolyGreenCow bases his satirical stance firmly in the world of the Everyman, using those things he finds around him in his daily life.

Through the use of lo-fi technology, the HolyGreenCow seriesTHEY CAME triggers a sense of urgency in the viewer. The characters are blurred, frozen mid-movement, fleeing from harm and seeking a hide away. This calls the viewer to action, to consider the consequence for ongoing neglect and lack of respect for the planet we share

In creating these works Pool uses a combination of live action, 2D cut outs and rear projection, shot in a single take entirely on the iPhone.  Taking advantage of the immediacy and accessibility of this technology, he has set aside the SLR for his studies at the Queensland College of Art to construct images imbued with a sense of immediacy.  The photographs are snapshots from a future in which the world has become over run by monstrous invaders, caused and constructed through human inaction, which are snapped by the not so innocent bystander.

In the latest satirical series; The Greatest Story Ever Told 2 the change in era meant the change in technique, with Pool adopting the CGI technology from the current crop of Hollywood blockbuster ScI-fi epics. With meticulous casting of characters from his own domestic kitsch mythology alongside legends of the QLD art scene, the series works on a number of levels that will send every viewer away pondering a different aspect of the work. It is this multi layered approach to story telling that has captured the imagination of astute collectors and public alike.

Click here to read the extended story behind the HGC name

 

Curriculum Vitae

Education

2011   Bachelor of Photography (with Honours First Class) - QLD College of Art
2010   Bachelor of Photography – Photographic Art Practices - QLD College of Art
2010   Drawing short courses - Brisbane Institute of Art
2006   Photography short courses - Brisbane Institute of Photography

Selected Exhibitions History

2012    The Greatest Story Ever Told 2 QLD Centre for Photography QLD
2012    They Came Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery QLD
2011    austrALIENation QLD Centre for Photography QLD
2011    Prometheus Art Award Exhibition Merrimac QLD
2011    Interrupting Suburbia (solo) C Gallery, Fortitude Valley QLD
2011    Crates on Wheels Regional Touring Exhibition
2011    Featured Artist Brisbane Square Library (Jan-Feb 2011)
2010    SNAP! Pine Rivers Regional Art Gallery
2010    Last Days Graduation Exhibition QCA South Brisbane
2010    Future Nurture Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery QLD
2010    Group Show Queensland Centre for Photography
2010    Forward Motion (QLD Festival of Photography) Project Gallery, South Bank QLD
2010    Linden Postcard Show, Linden Centre for Contemporary Art, St Kilda, VIC
2009    P is for…, Josh Levi Gallery, Wooloongabba, Brisbane
2009    Olive Cotton Award Finalists Exhibition, Tweed River Regional Art Gallery, NSW
2009    Churchie Emerging Art Exhibition, Anglican Church Grammar School, Brisbane
2009    Faces (solo), Urban Grind, New Farm, Brisbane
2008    Vivid National Photography Festival, Canberra
2008    Summer and Winter Group Exhibitions, Seaside Artists Gallery, Redcliffe

Selected Prizes/Commissions/Grants

2012   Grant, Janet Holmes A' Court (Australian Artists Grant)
2012   Finalist, Moreton Bay Regional Art Awards
2011   Finalist, Prometheus Art Award
2011   Winner, Griffith Award for academic Excellence, QLD College of Art
2010   Winner (Acquired), Toowoomba Regional Art gallery Biennial Emerging Art Prize 2010
2010   Finalist, Moreton Bay Regional Art Awards
2010   Winner, Griffith Award for Academic Excellence, QLD College of Art
2009   Winner, Hanger’s Choice Award, Olive Cotton Portrait Prize
2009   Finalist, Churchie Emerging Art Prize
2008   Winner (Photography),  Nundah Art Prize

Public Collections/ Publications

Art Bank Collection (5 Pieces)
Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery BRAG
Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery QLD (4 Pieces) Rockhampton Regional Art Gallery QLD,
Queensland Centre for Photography QLD
Tweed River Regional Art Gallery NSW
Nerangba Valley State High School Art Collection QLD

Australian Photography and Gallery Compendium 2011

 

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