John Penn

HND in Design

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Artist Statement:

My work is to do with how television has robbed the individual of elements of their lives, be they a sense of security, an ease of communication with others, a sense of positive body consciousness.

We all sit in our electrified caves looking at the shadows on the screen, and the rarely tell us anything good.

I believe television encourages people to shy away from the real world, to experience it two dimensionally, in a format where it can be safely caged. At the same time it continually confirms that reality does need this distancing. It’s a scary world if you choose to find your entertainment in other peoples misfortunes. With the endless reality cop shows, (imported rather than domestic), the nations fixation with murderers, serial murderers and paeodophiles, it’s a wonder we venture outside at all.

It’s rare for television’s focus to be on positive storylines. We have been helped along in our addiction to misery to the point where we are numb with it. We are turning inwards upon ourselves, locking away the social animal.

In the end we are impotent, our main function being to passively receive the Television’s signals, sponges returning them to no one.

John Penn