/f/119968/800x800/cda4a6531a/paul_insect_thumbnail-0-5x.jpg "artist wearing black jacket with his hands clutching a pink mask which covers his face")
/f/119968/800x800/cda4a6531a/paul_insect_thumbnail-0-5x.jpg "artist wearing black jacket with his hands clutching a pink mask which covers his face")
Paul Insect
High-saturation musings on freedom and identity from a faceless art world maverick.
“There are two sides to people: the side you want everyone to see, and the side you would rather keep to yourself.”
Paul Insect questions identity, both who we are and who we choose to be. His mixed-media works meld portraiture and abstraction with paint, print, collage and sculpture. Figures wear balaclava-like masks surrounded by energetic brushstrokes and bold graphic shapes. The compositions evoke Dada and Pop Art, and make clear nods to Insect’s roots as a graffiti artist. But behind the fun and playful fa...
Read morePaul Insect questions identity, both who we are and who we choose to be. His mixed-media works meld portraiture and abstraction with paint, print, collage and sculpture. Figures wear balaclava-like masks surrounded by energetic brushstrokes and bold graphic shapes. The compositions evoke Dada and Pop Art, and make clear nods to Insect’s roots as a graffiti artist. But behind the fun and playful facade is a more pernicious sentiment – the people are trapped inside the canvas, questioning themes of individual freedom and choice.
In his work, Insect critiques digital identity. Much like an Instagram feed, the figures gaze directly at the viewer – their sense of self bound to the approval of others. Also, the masks they wear both reveal and hide their faces, just as we choose what to share and hide online. This is echoed in Insect’s choice to keep his face and personal identity secret. As such, he blends our projected identities and lived identities – suggesting they are becoming ever-more difficult to separate.
Paul Insect questions identity, both who we are and who we choose to be. His mixed-media works meld portraiture and abstraction with paint, print, collage and sculpture. Figures wear balaclava-like masks surrounded by energetic brushstrokes and bold graphic shapes. The compositions evoke Dada and Pop Art, and make clear nods to Insect’s roots as a graffiti artist. But behind the fun and playful facade is a more pernicious sentiment – the people are trapped inside the canvas, questioning themes of individual freedom and choice...
Read morePaul Insect questions identity, both who we are and who we choose to be. His mixed-media works meld portraiture and abstraction with paint, print, collage and sculpture. Figures wear balaclava-like masks surrounded by energetic brushstrokes and bold graphic shapes. The compositions evoke Dada and Pop Art, and make clear nods to Insect’s roots as a graffiti artist. But behind the fun and playful facade is a more pernicious sentiment – the people are trapped inside the canvas, questioning themes of individual freedom and choice.
In his work, Insect critiques digital identity. Much like an Instagram feed, the figures gaze directly at the viewer – their sense of self bound to the approval of others. Also, the masks they wear both reveal and hide their faces, just as we choose what to share and hide online. This is echoed in Insect’s choice to keep his face and personal identity secret. As such, he blends our projected identities and lived identities – suggesting they are becoming ever-more difficult to separate.
/f/119968/2048x1365/58d8a86eb6/tim-craig-avant-arte-paul-insect-004.jpg "artist wearing a pink mask covering his face with a black hood over the top, as he stands in his studio holding up a large print of two collage faces and bright blocks of colour")
/f/119968/2048x1365/11c1266adb/tim-craig-avant-arte-paul-insect-002.jpg "view looking down on the artists studio, in which the artist walks around a collection of paintings and prints laid out on the floor to his right")
/f/119968/2048x1365/0185d0668b/tim-craig-avant-arte-paul-insect-001.jpg "surface covered in colourful splatters of paint with a rectangular painting placed centrally")
/f/119968/2048x1365/b9532554b3/tim-craig-avant-arte-paul-insect-003.jpg "artist holding up a colourful collage print before him, covering his body so that only his arms and hands are visible")
/f/119968/2048x1365/6037ceb16b/tim-craig-avant-arte-paul-insect-006.jpg "View of studio floor with ten different prints and paintings of various subjects and colours spread out")
/f/119968/2048x1365/b8de523050/tim-craig-avant-arte-paul-insect-008.jpg "Close-up of artists hands as he works on a pink piece of cloth which he decorates with blue patterns, sticking on an ear and an eye and a red button")
Paul Insect (he/him), also known as PINS, was born in 1971 in the south east of England. He now lives and works in London.
The artist has collaborated with street art stablemates Banksy and Bast, produced album art for DJ Shadow and received commissions from festivals including Glastonbury and The Lost Horizon.
In 2007, Damien Hirst bought the entirety of Bullion, Insect's solo show at London’s Lazarides Gallery, before it even opened.
Exclusively on Avant Arte
/f/119968/2048x1365/582d85e9ff/z70a6395-1.jpg "Artist Paul Insect in his studio, sitting down and talking to a camera")
It was an important step for me to create a visual language that people could recognise me forPaul Insect about his practice
/f/119968/1162x1599/ac01fd0a98/crystal-habits-blue-2019-marcel-katz-art-paul-insect.jpg "collage portrait of a woman in a polka dot orange and blue shirt with a pink and blue zebra-print neckscarf, black short hair with a pink flower in it, and a face made up of patches of blue and monochrome photographic details covering the eyes and mouth")
/f/119968/1104x1600/22d13826e4/pollen-dream-2017-paul-insect-dope-gallery.jpg "woman in zigzag patterned shirt with green collar and featureless pink face apart from the eyes, and blue hair, surrounded by flowers")
/f/119968/399x558/7f019f8662/poppy-love-2017-heritage-auctions-paul-insect.jpg "woman wearing mint green top that blends into the colour of the background, with monochrome hair, eyes, mouth and cheeks, whilst the remainder of her face and body is a pale pink colour")
/f/119968/1158x1599/292e0775dc/meteor-lights-heritage-auctions-2016-paul-insect.jpg "collage portrait of a woman with a face made up of blue colour blocks and photographic monochrome clippings which detail her mouth and eyes, whilst her short hair is composed of yellow and black dots")
/f/119968/399x536/d033ea7b81/psychedelic-saints-2012-paul-insect-forum-auctions.jpg "gold icon of a saint with a black religious gown on, red nail vanish and a cigarette in his right hand, whilst his face is blanked out by a block of blue colour so that only his eyes and beard remain detailed")
:format(webp)/f/119968/1200x1500/87ad62c5ee/install-portrait_0002_piinstallshots_jonathandewaart_17-11-21_54.jpeg "installation view of five glass sculptures in front of a Paul Insect painting")
/f/119968/870x580/792ecdece7/insect_9.jpeg "installation view of a large painting above a fireplace")
/f/119968/773x580/110fde8404/installation-10.jpeg "installation view of two brightly coloured paintings")
/f/119968/1000x666/846eafc7b9/theres-more-upstairs-paul-insect-2019.jpg "white wall with three circular tondo paintings propped against it of different faces depicted in different bold colours")
/f/119968/640x640/e1e2039a40/paul-insect-rainbow-deckchair-glastonbury-2019.jpeg "crowds of people stand and sit outdoors surrounding a large rainbow installation in the shape of a deckchair with sunglasses on and a smile")
/f/119968/960x624/7ed92d3691/reflective-mind-felicity-carter-paul-insect.jpg "artist wearing black hat and blue coat working in his studio with heat lamp on and paint pots and cans on surfaces and on the floor, with a large painting on the wall in front of him")
/f/119968/500x333/940b691574/dismaland-butterfly-news-paul-insect-bast.jpg "installation outside of a building with three figures stood on rooftops above a scene of junk objects, such as old car tyres, speaker systems, road signs, graffiti'd walls and debris")
/f/119968/1536x2048/f2ca407b44/avantarte-bristol21.jpeg "Paul Peace flyposter")
/f/119968/1920x1080/83fa559ecc/homepage_08.jpg "a hand emerges from either side of a pale green door, through a hole in which two painted eyes are visible.")
/f/119968/1600x2000/fe9aa4fc8d/paul-insect-thumbnail-portrait.jpg "Artist Paul Insect in his studio")
/f/119968/1600x1600/6e22455a92/artist_thumbnail_template.png "Yuichi Hirako stands in front of his large scale painting")
/f/119968/800x800/93357b0548/artist_thumbnail_template.png "Deborah Brown smiling resting her hand in her palm")
/f/119968/800x800/89d118aaef/artist_thumbnail_template.png "Gina Beavers smiling in front of a painting of lips")
/f/119968/800x800/5fd6ee1008/javier_calleja_thumbnail_2-0-5x.jpg "Javier Calleja looking towards the camera")
/f/119968/1600x1600/1923ed989f/artist_thumbnail_template.png "Dada Khinyasa facing directly into the camera against a deep blue background, wearing a denim shirt and a red cap")
/f/119968/1600x1600/a32b466b3f/kai-artist-thumbnail.jpg "Thumbnail for the artist Kai with a cartoon face")