Today, just as when I was at art college 15 years ago, it is those with the gift of the gab who get the furthest. I'd like to turn that around and just make pictures.
I take my inspiration from John Waters films, late night transvestite bars and Lithuanian woodcarvings. It's easy to see which is which; but where do they cross? Both the carved mythologies and the transgendered beasts are of another world, once removed from the every day, yet still recognisable. Both contain an element of fun, but also an element of the sinister.
I have participated in several exhibitions around London, including the Museum of Pop Culture and several Stuckist exhibitions around the country and in Germany, the USA and Australia. Solo shows include the Fringe Gallery near New York City, First Out in London and Getto in Amsterdam, where I was named 'painter of the year' in the Amsterdam Gay News.
I am continuing to paint beehive wigs, as well as working on new printmaking projects.
Website: http://www.ellaguru.org.uk
Email: mailto:roast_cat@yahoo.co.uk
Exhibitions: solo:
December-January 2001 "Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder", First Out, 52 St Giles High Street, London WC2
September-November 2001 "The Beehive Years". Manto's cafe, 30 Old Compton Street, London W1.
July-August 1999: "The Long Island Iced Tea Party", Getto, Warmoesstraat 51, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
May 1999: "The Long Island Iced Tea Party", The Fringe, 76 Oliver Street, Newark, NJ, USA
October 1989:"Leave your clothes behind", Waldos on High, 432 High Street, Columbus Ohio, USA
Exhibitions: group:
October 2002: Stuck Down South, @ FAD Gallery, 14 Corrs Lane, Chinatown, Melbourne.
October 2002: Morley Printmakers at the St Brides Foundation Institute, Bride Lane, London EC4
July-September 2002: The First Stuckist International, 3 Charlotte Road, London EC2.
July 2002: Stuck in Newcastle, England.
December 2001: Small Print Bienale, Morley Gallery, Lambeth North, London
June 2001 and ongoing: travelling US Stuckist exhibition, starting in Lexington Kentucky.
June 2001: Vote Stuckist- the Stuckists with Guests of Ed Mirza and 24 International Stuckist groups, The Fridge Gallery, 40 Acre Lane, Brixton, London SW2 5SP
June 2001: Vote Stuckist: the Stuckists and Guests, Rivington Gallery Annexe, 3 Ravey Street, Hoxton, London EC2
June 2001: Vote Stuckist- the Clapham Stuckists + They're All Prostitutes, Ace of Clubs Centre for the Homeless, St Alphonsus Road, Clapham SW4
May 2001: M.A.D.E @ Morley , Morley College, Lambeth North, London
March 2001: The First Remodernist Art Group, Artbank Gallery, Clerkenwell Road, London EC1
October-November 2000: "The Real Turner Prize show 2000", Pure Gallery, 1 Leonard St London EC2.
October-November 2000: "The Real Turner Prize show 2000", Up and Above Gallery, 3 Market St, Falmouth, Cornwall
October-November 2000: "The Real Turner Prize show 2000", Buttclub, Hamburg, GERMANY
October 2000: "STUCK! - a show of Stuckist paintings", St Martin's College, Bowerham Road, Lancaster
September– October 2000 "STUCK in Koeln," Atelier Soemmering, Soemmeringstr. 42, 50825 Cologne, GERMANY
June – August 2000 "STUCK in Freiburg, Jos Fritz Café , Wilhelmstr. 15, 79098 Freiburg, GERMANY.
May 2000: "Stuck in Germany", Leipziger Messe für junge Kunst, Kulturfabrik Leipzig, WERK II Kochstraße 132, 04277 Leipzig, GERMANY
May 2000: "The Resignation of Sir Nicholas Serota." New paintings by the Stuckists, The Red Dot Gallery, 57–59 Upper Orwell Street, Ipswich, Suffolk IP4 1HP
May 2000: "STUCK!" New paintings by the Stuckists, Metropole Arts Centre, The Leas, Folkestone, Kent CT20 2LS
April 2000: "New paintings by the Stuckists," The Arts Club, 40 Dover Street, London
April 2000: "Stuck in Germany", Westwerk , Admiralitätsstr. 74, Hamburg, GERMANY
March 2000: "The Resignation of Sir Nicholas Serota." New paintings by the Stuckists, Gallery 108, 108 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4XS
January 2000: "THE FIRST ART SHOW OF THE NEW MILLENIUM", Paintings by the Stuckists, 191 Queensgate, London SW7 5EU
September 1999: "Stuck! Stuck! Stuck!" First Stuckist exhibition, Gallery 108, 108 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4XS
October 1998: "Wild Weekend" at the Museum of Pop Culture, Central London
September 1998: Anarquist Centre, Brixton, London
August 1993: Installation and film with Anjali Bhatia at a school-turned-cultural centre, under the Westway, London
March 1990: "Sex & Death" copyart show, West Virginia, USA
January 1990: Max Fish and the Mars bar, New York, NY, USA