Trent Whitehead is known as a painter / sculptor. He was born in 1980 in a small surf town north of Sydney, Australia. He now works out of World’s End Studios in Sydney whilst working predominantly in ink and acrylic on wood. Trent Whitehead’s latest body of work centers around a series of hand crafted 3d wooden masks. Each character seems about to burst with some intense expression of anger, frustration or joie de vivre. The intensity of the masks captures the effervescence of the artist himself, pooling the experiences of his existence to breathe life into inanimate wood, like a vagabond Giuseppi to a badass Pinocchio. Trent’s exquisitely patterned and highly narrative works explore the effects of extinction in a fantastical world of horned creatures and bearded villains.
In the wake of the unicorn’s extinction all horned creatures are now under threat, their horns now highly prized by poachers keen to exploit their magical properties.
Trent’s paintings portray scenes of hope, desperation and loss in a deceptively light-hearted way. His use of kaleidoscopic colours and references to folk costume, lends a sumptuous and shimmering element to the already dynamic and endearing characters.
Although confessing to be a ‘self-taught art nerd’, Trent’s endearing folkloric paintings are taking him in leaps and bounds from showing at galleries like Monster Children in his hometown and also around Australia and to international galleries.
