Alexander Pollard

Alexander James Pollard’s work explores divergent world making through composite painting, writing, and the production of graphic novels. Drawing on converging motifs within myth, sci-fi and neurodivergent forms of cognition, his practice-based research mines the potential of the cut-up as a catalyst for image-making, world building and the creation of alternative narratives.

About His Paintings:

“I am interested in representation as a carrier for narrative, visual oddness, ambiguity, atmosphere, composition, beauty and ugliness. I also explore the emotive resonance of colour and texture, and the nuance and unpredictability of the painterly mark. These factors all contribute to why one painting might ‘talk’, stand out and hold something special, and another might not. Themes within my paintings reflect an interest in myth, science-fiction, the animal kingdom, cultural studies and everyday magic. These are all dealt with emotively and intuitively, using mark-making, or touch, to reach the viewer.”

Collaborative Book Projects:

In a recent illustrated artist’s book titled: Aleister Crowley and Charles Dawson: The Order of the Dawn Man of 2022 (*made in collaboration with Luke Pendrell), Pollard co-wrote and illustrated a short story using a cut-up collaborative process. The work explores a fictional relationship between Aleister Crowley and Charles Dawson (creator of the Piltdown Man), conjuring up an alternative history of the Piltdown skull. One which accentuates the occultish, esoteric and supersensible readings of the skull as a hyperstitional object.

*The painting shown above is titled “Cat God”, oil on panel, 2020. Originally shown in Reboot: Ruins in Reverse, La Plateform, Dunkirk, France, 2020.

* Aleister Crowley and Charles Dawson: The Order of the Dawn Man by Luke Pendrell and Alexander James Pollard is available in the University of Brighton Library at St. Peters House.

*Instagram: @ajpollard

Pollard studied BA (Hons) Painting and Drawing at Glasgow School of Art (1996-99). His MPhil titled A Genealogy of Bad Painting – Legacies, Soft Objects and Networks was undertaken at Goldsmiths College, London (2017).

In 2005 Pollard represented Scotland at the Venice Biennale. Highlights of his exhibition history include: Reboot: Ruins in Reverse, La Plate-forme, Dunkerque, France (2020), Paleo Fauvism, Hop Projects, Folkestone (2018), Jungle, Celine Gallery, Glasgow (2017), WoW Paintings, Young Team HQ, London (2016), Black Marks, Talbot Rice Gallery, University of Edinburgh (2007), Counter Facture at Luhring Augustine, New York (2007), The Santorini Biennale, Santorini, Greece (2012) and The Irregular Correct – New Art from Glasgow at the Fremantle Art Centre, Fremantle, Australia (2012).  

Pollard has worked as a lecturer in Fine Art Painting and Printmaking at the Glasgow School of Art (2006-2013) and in Fine Art Painting at Wimbledon College of Arts (UAL) (2013-14). He now works at The University of Brighton (2014 - present), where he is a Senior Lecturer in Fine Art Painting and MA Fine Art.

His work is held in major international private and public collections including: Arts Council of England, Scottish National Gallery, Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal, The Government Art Collection. And private collections in the UK, Italy, Greece, Germany, Japan and the USA.