Edd Pearman’s series ‘Too Late To Try’ is in the grand British tradition of using the arts as a form as social commentary but with a contemporary and very personal twist. Utilizing information gleaned from conversations with male friends who work nine to five, Pearman has attempted to visualise the negative effects of the modern World upon the human spirit; a modern and fascinating variant on the theme of ‘working for the man’ prevalent in many old blues songs and much of popular music, theatre and literature thereafter. Whilst Pearman makes no attempt to draw direct comparisons between the lot of dustbowl era black America and the British working man, he does succeed in highlighting certain common themes such as subordination and the dehumanising effect that results from the loss of autonomy. His most recent work utilizes uniforms from the UK’s national institutions; St John’s ambulance, Boy Scouts and the Salvation Army are used as reference. To achieve all of this in a purely visual art form is both ambitious and exciting.
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Pearman uses simplified, almost generic images and his limited use of colour and shape serve to make each subject iconic, in much the same way as standardised signage is used to convey commands. In this way ‘Too Late To Try’ manages to highlight the lack of individualism endemic in modern society, which contrasts with the highly individual style of the artist. ’Nemo Nisi Mors’, 2009, embraces elements of 1960’s Op Art in that it aims to fool the eye, creating a visual tension. Created for a group exhibition curated by Pearman that aimed to represent ‘duality’ and the characteristic of being two-fold, at first glance the image appears to just be of an emblem of some kind, perhaps a coat of arms. At closer glance, however, men in military dress, horses, weapons and flags appear. Translated as “Nobody except death (will part us)”, the title of the piece has obvious references to war - perhaps a statement about the current position of US and UK troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Born in 1976, Edd Pearman studied Fine Art Printmaking at the Royal College of Art, London, graduating in 2002. In 2001 he won the Linklaters Printing Award, and has had his work exhibited at the Dali Museum, Hockney Gallery and the Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary art. Solo exhibitions include ‘Social Studies’ (2003) and ‘Nude & Bird Studies’ (2005), and he has been included in a number of group exhibitions in the UK, New York, Berlin and Japan, including Bloomberg ‘New Contemporaries’ (2002) and the ‘New Artist Unit’ at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (2006).
His work has been published in The Guardian, The Independent and The Times and features in collections around the world including the V & A, the Chapman Brothers family archive and the Bazil Alkazzi Foundation. Having lectured for many years in London, Pearman currently works as a print technician at screenprinting studio Coriander in West London.