Thom Roberts - Outsider Art Fair

For Thom Roberts a city’s infrastructure is enchanted territory.
A play centre for mis-adventure, alter-egos and surprising transformations.

Thom uses graphic art, animation and augmented reality to share his experience of these landscapes. In 2019 he completed a series of augmented reality art works inspired by Sydney’s City Circle train line. Thom illustrated each of the four stations and created animations super imposing himself driving trains and performing gymnastics throughout the transport circuit.

Thom Roberts, City Circle Line, 2019, collection of 4 augmented reality works. The work can be activated by downloading the free EyeJack app, scanning the four QR codes and viewing the works through the app.

Displaying technical sophistication, the works are inventive, playful and intensely curious, inciting spontaneous delight in audiences.

Thom is keen to exhibit this series of four works at the New York Outsider Art Fair along with a new series of graphic art and augmented reality works inspired by the New York city skyline and subway.

Upon learning of the Outsider Art fair exhibition potential, the artist has already begun illustrations of his imagined ‘New York City!’ (insert Thom excitedly yelling this across the room). 

At the Outsider Art Fair Thom proposes to exhibit a series of textile and graphic works depicting his train inspired portraits, train portraits inspired by Sydney and New York transport systems and the city skylines. Some of these works will be activated by augmented reality. Using the free app Eyejack, Thom’s landscapes can be easily animated by audiences via their mobile phones revealing the adventures of Thom and his imagined creatures.

 Performance Art

Thom Roberts performs a tandem crown reading at Studio A, Crows Nest, 2018.

Thom is a transformer, a shape shifter. He identifies not only as a man, but also as a high-rise tower and train type. According to Thom I am the Gold Coast tower in Brisbane (Australia), a tram, a bearded collie and a horses body resides in the crown of my head.

Thom perceives multiple identities in most people he encounters. He reads creatures in people’s crowns (the spiral at the top of your head from where hair grows), and he regularly performs live crown readings at art events. The artist delivers a unique form of portraiture merging subjects crown creatures with their faces. 

Thom Roberts Counts Trains, 2019, The National: New Australian Art, Carriageworks. 16 paintings depicting eight personalities, painted in both forms as person and train.

Thom proposes to perform his unique portraiture at the New York Outsider Art Fair. Audience members are invited to sit and have their crown read and drawn by Thom.  Using these crown drawings, Thom will progressively create a new live graphic work within the booth.

Thom will extend his crown drawing practice to create paper sculptures taking the form of large millipedes. He will progressively create his long paper millipedes from crowns he draws at the art fair. 

The paper millipedes will exist as paper sculptures and art fair audiences will see Thom’s creative practice in action. After the fair, Thom will animate the paper millipedes and will position these creatures moving through his graphic versions of New York city.

Art fair guests are invited to follow Thom’s progress online as he creates this work.

Thom’s world view is a fascinating and enchanting and through his art practice he shares his refreshing perspective with audiences. Thom invites audiences at the New York Outsider Art Fair to take respite from their reality and inhabit his for a moment.

Contact

To discuss this proposal please contact me, Gabrielle Mordy, Studio A Artistic Director/CEO via gabrielle.mordy@studioa.org.au