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Jude Palace – I Do Not Make Art For Anyone; I Make Art For You.

This is a poster advertising Jude Palace’s digital drawing show at AANM Gallery102-329 Cumberland Avenue, opening October 6 from 6-9pm, and available online at aanm.ca/online-exhibitions. These details are displayed in lines of plain, bright high-contrast text, sandwiched between slices sampled from Palace’s work, along with the logos of the funder, Canada Council for the Arts, and AANM, as well as the title of the show, “I Do Not Make Art for Anyone; I Make Art for You.” Palace’s work is busy, exuberant, tragic, and appears as a chaotic jumble of bright colours, creating an intriguing narrative. Visible in the top image detail is a young, blonde boy with large blue eyes, calmly meeting our gaze, as the hands of someone in a white sweater studded with red hearts grasps his chin and hair as if preparing to wrench his head violently. The background is bright red with abstract lines snaking among orange and yellow star/explosions. In the image below that, we see a blue tiger sitting regally on a pink shabby sofa. A snake patterned with red, orange, and black is seen entering through a window and baring its fangs towards the tiger, who is sporting an award ribbon on his furry chest. The bottom image depicts a young Black boy in a yellow cap and green jacket, turning to meet our eye over his shoulder. On his collar in orange font is the word ‘lonely,’ in which the ‘o’ is denoted by a daisy. The boy is touching a wall calendar set to November, with a hand displaying bloody knuckles and multiple band-aids.

Bio

My name is Jude Palace, and I am a Canadian digital artist. My practice involves a therapeutic approach to each piece, using complex personal experiences and thoughts blended into a saturated and nostalgic environment.

In late 2019 I was diagnosed with generalized epilepsy after experiencing my first grand mal seizure. This was a result of a year of declining mental and physical health, and though epilepsy runs in my father’s side of my family, it was seemingly not an issue for me until then. Without the aid of medication, I continue to experience seizures caused by stress, insomnia, or malnutrition.

Invisible disabilities such as epilepsy are often overlooked, as many believe that what cannot be seen cannot qualify as a disability. With my work I hope to achieve some understanding between artwork and the viewer, using a heavily detailed and continuative universe to guide them from a firsthand perspective.

Statement

I Do Not Make Art for Anyone, I Make Art for You is a collection of digital drawings by Canadian artist Jude Palace. While each piece has its own individual narrative, the collection features several smaller series, each one taking place in an unidentified and nonlinear timeline.

In 2019, Palace had begun experimenting with contemporary and symbolic themes in his artwork, taking inspiration from events in his personal life. He continues to use his artwork as a therapeutic outlet – however, at the time he had struggled with a panic disorder, anorexia, and depression. As a result of this, he began experiencing seizures and was diagnosed with generalized epilepsy.

The goal of this collection is to pass on complex feelings from artist to viewer – not for the sake of empathy, but communication. Palace often references his own artwork to facilitate a dialogue that questions the genuine nature of the artwork, using a vibrant and eclectic style as a diversion to create a false sense of comfort.

In this digital drawing, small sad pink bunnies in green doctor and nurse outfits tend to a pale young person with short messy brown hair, sitting in a blue examination gown. Tubes of various colours snake out of their body at points marked by red hearts. A red heart is taped over one eye, skin flushed angry and red. The room is chaotic, with prescriptions, pill bottles, and pills strewn about the floor, and tubes and wires tangled all around.
I Will (Not) Let You Heal, March 10th, 2023, 24” x 18”, Digital media, $250.
In this digital drawing, a pale person with pink flushed skin stands partially disrobed from a blue bunny suit. The bunny head lies dripping dark blood and spewing colourful wires at their feet, next to a rainbow-topped guillotine. Sad ghosts in colourful party hats circle the scene, in front of an orange and white striped circus tent. The figure holds primary-coloured star-shaped helium balloons in one hand, which are tied to the guillotine, ostensibly controlling its function.
Desideratum, March 16th, 2023, 24” x 18”, Digital media, $250.
In this scene, a pale thin person hangs ghosts on a clothesline to dry, assisted by small sad pink bunnies. One bunny waters potted plants in front of a small orange house with large sunflowers growing out the windows. The sky is lilac and dotted with white stars. The largest yellow sunflower looks on from above, like a sun, with a smile.
While They Sleep, March 21st, 2023, 24”x18”, Digital media, $250.
In this chaotic scene, a young pale person lies in the fetal position on a bed, tangled in blue sheets, grasping a sand-timer hourglass filled with stars. The figure is peeking at us from under a sleep mask and wearing a sweater vest and brightly striped shorts. Items and symbols associated with masculinity litter the room – toy airplane and train, blocks spelling BOY, posters of video game controller and muscle-man, baseball bat. Large anxious anthropomorphized sunflowers lean in urgently to communicate with the figure.
Boyhood, March 30th, 2023, 24” x 18”, Digital media, $300.
A pale figure with devil horns sits on a bed covered by a bright and busily-patterned bedspread. An arrow pierces one horn, a tarantula marked by a heart sits on their shoulder. Two huge band-aids are stuck to their yellow striped sweater in an x. The figure’s twin, in different clothing, enters the doorway, looking back at the floral paradise from whence he came. A sash of grenades marked with yellow smiley-faces hangs from their waist. The phrase “Hell is other people” is written in wavy blue letters in the upper left corner of the image, near an angry tiger head and white paper cranes.
Leave Instead, October 28th, 2020, 16” x 20”, Digital media, $135.
A pale young hairdresser with spikey blue hair and a blue furry tail stands with scissors in hand, poised to trim the feathered wings of a figure seated in the barber chair before them, draped in a dark cloak. In the barbershop is a shabby brown couch crudely patched with hearts, stuffing popping out of ripped upholstery, as well as various signs, and a big mirror surrounded by round green lights. Pickle jars are seen on shelving and on the busily-patterned floor, leaking pickles.
And Again, And Again, And Again, June 15th, 2023, 24” x 16”, Digital media, $245.
A young person with short purple hair reclines on an uncomfortable orange chair at a chaotic cubicle workstation. They have a bored, sad expression, face flushed and cheeks brightly marked by two red hearts. Their belt is undone, underwear visible. A turquoise and orange centipede emerges from one eye socket. One arm ends in a meaty stump; the severed hand is seen typing on the keyboard of a green computer; the monitor displays a slots game. Mess, spills, yellow sticky notes and alarming signage are everywhere. Giant centipedes climb the wall.
All Too Familiar, June 22nd, 2023, 20” x 30”, Digital media, SOLD
This digital drawing includes a grey frame, titled in orange bubble letters “NO RAIN, NO FLOWERS.” The background is bright red punctuated by yellow/orange starbursts and brightly coloured shapes, some snake-like and organic, others angular. Two twin-like figures are front and centre, wearing white sweaters patterned with red hearts. One, sporting an exposed brain, grasps the other’s head by hair and chin as if to violently wrench it off. The victim wears the sad, bored expression of defeat. Medical insignia, paper airplanes, and a melty clock hover around the scene.
Intro to Neurology, July 19th, 2020, 20” x 16”, Digital Media, $150.
Two figures embrace. One has an insect head, the other sports purple hair festooned with multiple colourful barrettes. Colourful luggage is piled around the scene. Butterflies flit about the grey night sky, in which smoke circles waft from the lit cigarette held by one of the lovers. A cupid floats before a giant full moon, next to power lines and streetlights. A small orange car navigates down the back of one figure. The word ‘sleepless’ in a red speech bubble is suspended overhead.
Refamiliarize, August 18th, 2020, 20” x 16”, Digital media, $175.
A small stage comprised of piano keys is labeled “find the mission” with orange bubble lettering. A young pale person with short messy hair stands on stage in an active pose, clothes in movement and disarray, aiming a camera at the viewer while staring through the viewfinder with one eye. ‘Mr. Tembo’ is written on their oversized patterned jacket, and their jeans read ‘love and loved’ and ‘to be’ in red lettering. Banners of triangle flags festooned with peace symbols and rainbows hang in the background. Purple brick walls are festooned with busy signs. Eye symbols float around a wall-mounted light fixture. The floor is scattered with building blocks and potted cacti.
Tembo, July 13th, 2019, 22” x 18”, Digital media, $120.
We see a blue tiger sitting regally on a pink shabby sofa. A snake patterned with red, orange, and black is seen entering through a window and baring its fangs towards the tiger, who is sporting an award ribbon on his furry chest. Photos of ghosts hang on torn green patterned wallpaper walls. The floor is strewn with pickle jars spilling their contents everywhere and obscuring a message written on the floor in black balloon font.
Salt Circles, November 15th, 2019, 18” x 20”, Digital media, $265.
An anthropomorphized stag and hare sit in front of an arcade game wearing colourful bomber jackets. One is emblazoned with a tiger and cacti motif, the other Donald Duck. On the game screen, and as decorative wall posters, we see actual black and white photography of a toddler in various domestic scenes. A banner near the ceiling of the arcade repeats the phrase over and over: “you cheat, you die.”
Pumpkin Eater, September 26th, 2019, 16” x 14”, Digital Media, not for sale.
A girl with long black hair reaches to the top shelf of a market to get a small purple box of bunny food. Her baggy pants are patterned with eye symbols. A young boy in colourful hip-hop clothing hangs one leg over a yellow shopping cart which holds a small naked blue being with daisy eyes. The boy is looking down at a small floppy bunny in his hands. The floor is black and white checks, and in the foreground are large chess-pieces. Outside a window we glimpse a calm sea, crescent moon, and an airplane ascending through clouds.
Pinching Pennies to Waste it the Next Day, July 29th, 2019, 10” x 11”, Digital media, $100.
This scene is a jumble of bright pink, yellow, orange, teal, lilac and green. A Black boy turns to look at us over his shoulder while touching a ‘November’ calendar above a phone urgently declaring ‘911!’ in a speech bubble. The boy’s outfit is mis-matched – leopard print, star spangles, peace signs, chains, checks. On his collar is the word ‘lonely,’ written in bubble letters. The wallpaper is a chaotic puzzle-pieces motif. A poster of hot air balloons hangs in the background.
09-Pothole-90, March 13th, 2019, 20” x 16”, Digital Media, $165.

 

This is a drawing of an elderly woman. She gazes though the oval lenses of a pair of glasses. She wears a dark hat. Her face is wrinkled. She wears gems set in ornate nose jewellery, and feather earrings.

This is a portrait of an elderly person. Their hair is short and messy, and they wear a housecoat. They face us with eyes and mouth scrunched shut, cheeks puffed, like they are holding their breath.

In this drawing we see an elderly woman’s face, as reflected in a mirror she is gazing into. Her eye are apprehensive, a concerned /confused look on her face.

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