Nic Joly’s latest body of work entitled Life’s a Carnival is a celebration of human existence in all its madness. Themes of love, laughter, mischief, curiosity and exuberance all bubble to the surface, channelled through the peculiar prism of the Joly imagination. Akin to the ubiquitous pirate ship swinging pendulously above the tent tops of any carnival, so does this collection oscillate between light and dark, spotlight and shade, in a stylistic continuation from Nic earlier bodies of work; Light and Dark and Being Human. “My work has always been inspired by the world around me and the theatre of life and, the more I look, the more it becomes clear that we are all on a journey together full of wonder. My past collections Light and Dark and Being Human have primarily shone a torch on the darker side of human nature, tapping into our inner thoughts, hang-ups and insecurities, but this new collection aims to capture the colourful and beautiful carnival of life in its myriad forms.” – Nic Joly Conceptually, the themes and associations one has with a carnival go some way to deciphering Nic’s inimitable outlook on life. Events and emotions viewed through our eyes, to him take on a different guise, as though viewed through funhouse mirrors that amusingly distort their subjects. Ideas collide in his head like bumper cars, and whirl insistently down a never-ending helter skelter before he takes ownership of his creative outpourings and channels them into the work we see before us. No need for sword swallowers, fire eaters or contortionists here though; Nic’s benign parodies give us all the entertainment we need. “Life is a ticket to the greatest show on Earth, so buckle up and let the carnival begin!” – Nic Joly
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