Conozco personas traumatizadas por las películas de Disney que vieron de niños, con esos animales humanizados, algunos de los cuales causan más miedo que simpatía. En el caso del artista británico conocido como Mr Mead su terror por las bestias disfrazadas de seres humanos procede de sus recuerdos de la película de 1976 del ballet de Reginald Mills Los cuentos de Beatrix Potter, que se vio obligado a ver de niño.
Para superar su miedo se dedica a dibujar oscuros e inquietantes personajes que tienen parte de animal, parte de humano y parte de máquina. Reconoce estar influido por ilustradores como Shaun Tan, Edward Gorey y Remi Wyart.
Con estas palabras explica su preferencia por este estilo surrealista: “No veo ninguna verdadera necesidad para el realismo, el mundo está a tu alrededor, por lo que dibujar la vida me parece aburrido, lo que flota alrededor del cerebro es mucho más interesante.”
Por Carlos Cesar Álvarez
ENG: Mr Mead is a traditional pen & ink artist from England and is terrified of people wearing animal suits, so to combat this fear, draws them constantly. This strange affliction stems from his memories of ‘The Tales of Beatrix potter’ a 1976 royal ballet film that he was forced to watch as a child by his parents ‘as a treat’. Unfortunately this scarred him for life instead and informs his work to this day. He works in a windowless room in Bristol where he creates all manner of works for Illustration, fine art shows and independent commissions, usually on large bits of board or paper with tiny pens. His characters are a surreal blend of the animal, human and mechanic and are influenced by Pierre Matter, Shaun tan and Edward Gorey to name a few. Currently he is exploring the realms of sculpture and has been making his characters into animatable puppets. This will eventually lead to the wonderful world of stop motion animation if all things go well. Many projects have just been finished, included his first book with an NYC publishing house and there are many new projects up Mr Meads sleeve…
