Revolve Gallery

Christopher Johnstone

As a Bolton based artist, Christopher Johnstone is a sculptor best known for his quirky and unique Reject Bears, a series of poignantly malformed yet adorable characters made in ceramic and finished in bright colours reminiscent of a lost childhood.

Chris draws on his experiences of working as a Special Effects make up artists in the film industry to breathe life and movement into this creations. His popular Reject Bears have grown and developed over the years to include many more 'rejected' animals, all with the same toy-like simplicity of design and striking appearance.

His work is influenced by a childhood love of monsters, B movies and animation combined with a darker realisation of a modern society that is twisted slightly out of shape.

Background

Chris great in in Bolton, and has been sculpting as long as he can remember. He trained at Nottingham and worked in London as a sculptor and model for Gorton & Painter Effects working on projects for film, television and music video. He returned to the North-West and began working as a freelance artist eight years ago working alongside schools, film makers, communities and local councils to create workshops and public art.

Inspiration

The inspiration for Chris's sculpture originates from many sources. The influence of moving image of both film and animation is apparent in his work as is the desire to see beauty in the imperfect and misshapen. He is inspired by the sculptors Jordu Schell and Mark Alfrey alongside the films of Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam. Chris is also passionate about the architecture of Gaudi and anything strange or unusual.

To Sculpture

The individual sculptures are hand made in clay and then fired to biscuit or stoneware. They are finished in bright colours with unique texture that appears like fabric to the eye. This makes people instinctively want to touch the pieces and adds to the sensory experience. Rubber and metal are sometimes added depending on the animal and each creation is named and tagged.