Monuments to the everyday – Nathan Taylor

Nathan Taylor compares his paintings to that of junk food – “highly processed and orchestrated”, he says. 

Creating hyper-realistic paintings of burgers and fast-food paraphernalia, his work explores desire and convenience, which he believes is a key driver for junk food consumption.

Taylor is one of three artists featured as part of the Monuments to the everyday exhibition on display at Realm Artspace until 15 July.

He uses brightly-coloured, hyper-realistic painting to explore and decode what he describes as a ‘visually saturated world’.

Taylor, one of three artists featured in Monuments to the Everyday an exhibition currently on display at Realm, said viewers will find themselves lost in the exquisitely rendered surface of a crushed soft drink can, half-eaten doughnut or delectable sugary treat. 

For Taylor, it’s contextualising our love-hate relationship with food. 

While not overtly political, Taylor’s works take a critical view of the seductive nature of fast food and the notion of a ‘throw-away society’ strongly influenced by consumerism.

Here, the artist typically focuses on the detritus of urban Australian life, painting overflowing bins, rubbish in gutters and worn pavements as evidence of the careless waste and neglect that occurs in modern life. 

Works such as Self Indulgence, 2014, draw attention to the way global brand names have infiltrated Australian society, while simultaneously holding a mirror to our desire for excess and the bitter dregs of its waste. 

As Taylor explains: “I have tried to capture this tension of misunderstanding and misrepresentation by creating something negative in an aesthetic way”. 

Since his first major solo exhibition in 2003, Taylor has exhibited both nationally and internationally, participating in multiple facets of the visual arts scene including curated group exhibitions, art prizes, artist talk as well as being awarded notable grants, private commissions, prizes and scholarships. His work is held in numerous private collections as well as the Tasmanian Government House collection and Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery. 

Monuments to the everyday is on until Sunday 15 July at ArtSpace at Realm, Ringwood Town Square, 179 Maroondah Highway.

For more information visit the Arts in Maroondah Website