JOSHUA MIELS | IN TWO MINDS
Joshua Miels explores the emotional state of mind that we attempt to shield from society and how a face is often a façade. For one to truly understand what someone is going through can be proven as a difficult task. When we look at someone, we believe we can read their inner emotions. A face can express an array of feelings from happiness to sadness – we can appear composed in the toughest of situations if we wear the right mask. In ‘Two Minds’ deals with the actions and emotions we portray to mask the inner turmoil and emotional hardship. People give false fronts to give the illusion that they are fine. This is particularly true with males. Men are still being asked to live up to old-fashioned expectations – be strong, be brave, be protective.
Many of these things may be unattainable for individuals, and this can be particularly emotionally damaging. As the poet E. E. Cummings wrote, “The greatest battle, we face as human beings is the battle to protect our true selves from the self the world wants us to be.”
“We all portray and mask emotions in various ways, on the assumption that we are being judged at face value. I want to challenge this assumption. Through my portraits, I aim to express the ambiguity of psychical emotion by limiting what feelings my subjects portray. These large-scale paintings of males, most of whom I know personally, appear somewhat nonchalant. Unable to immediately relate to direct human emotions, viewers look past what they see at face value, prompting people to question the real individual. As a male with a family history of anxiety, addiction, and depression, I have witnessed firsthand how people can fool even those closest to them. They are torn between two minds – one is the real self, and the other is the way society wants us to be. Choosing which state of mind to be in can be a difficult task.”
EXHIBITIONS
– 2015 Hill Smith Gallery, South Australia
– 2015 Metro Gallery, Armadale, Victoria
– 2014 Metro Gallery, Armadale, Victoria
– 2014 BMG Art Gallery, SA
– 2012 Greenhill Gallery, North Adelaide
– 2012 AP Bond Gallery, Magill, South Australia
– 2012 Espionage Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia
– 2011 Ap Bond Galley, Magill, South Australia
AWARDS
– Emma Hack Art Prize (finalist) 2016
– Harford hardwood prize for portraiture 2015 (finalist)
– Black Swan Prize for Portraiture (finalist) 2015 (finalist)
– Lethbridge 10,000 small scale prize 2015 (finalist)
– Anzac Art Prize 2015 (finalist)
– Doug Moran Prize for Portraiture (semi Finalist) 2014
– Kennedy Art Prize (finalist) 2014
– Percival Prize for Portraiture (finalist) 2014
– Emma Hack Art Prize (finalist) 2014
– Doug Moran Prize for Portraiture (semi Finalist) 2013
– Black Swan Prize for Portraiture (finalist) 2013
– Black Swan Prize for Portraiture (finalist) 2012
JOSHUA MIELS
Website: http://joshuamiels.com/
email: rawcreative@optusnet.com.au
