Untitled 1 (2020)
Pencil on paper
Sketches for potential abstract paintings exploring the outline curves of the human form. Uncompleted due to my practice moving away from this idea.

Untitled 2 (2020)
Pencil on paper
Sketches for potential abstract paintings exploring the outline curves of the human form. Uncompleted due to my practice moving away from this idea.

Memory Tease (2020)
Digital drawing
Deliberately unfinished work playing with concepts around memory, and what the mind remembers of people. The inclusion of eyes and mouth but not breasts highlights the importance of making a true connection. Series on hiatus.

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Interview with Benn Pirrie

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Can you tell us how you first got into art? And what brought you to the themes of isolation and intimacy?

I wasn’t interested in the usual things like sports or TV as a child, all I wanted to do was draw! This passion led me to art college, and then on to university. College gave me the understanding about capital A art, a truly wonderful grounding in contemporary practice that really fired up my imagination of what art could be, what it could say and do, but the flip side of that is that the further you go into contemporary and conceptual art, the further behind you leave all those people who do not have that interest. For me, this brings a separation, a distance between yourself and the wider world.

I also discovered late in life that I am neurodivergent. I’m autistic and I’ve spent all my life with unmedicated ADHD. I grew up with the feeling that I was different, and not instinctively able to make connections with other people. So, by my interests and brain chemistry both, I found myself in a very isolating place. But one ripe for artistic exploration. What do the connections we make as people actually mean, and what happens when they are severed, or unable to be created in the first place?
Throughout my life, intimacy has been a source of deep fascination. Coming from a family where closeness was not the norm, I find myself particularly intrigued by the concept of physical intimacy, even in its most basic forms like a hug. . I feel no shame in exploring potentially erotic avenues in my practice, as I believe it to be an incredibly intriguing area of humanity that warrants consensual exploration.

How does your experience as a disabled and neurodivergent artist influence your creative process?

I find that, whether consciously or not, I am othered by the people and society around me. Most folk don’t want to see disabilities, much less acknowledge them. I use this othering in my work and express what life on that flip side is like, to know that so much of modern living is off limits to you due to how overwhelming society has become. We are constantly bombarded with messages and images and noise, and for those of us on the spectrum it can lead to a life of, at the very least, confusion and isolation. My practice aims to highlight this.

How has living in the Midlands shaped your work and artistic process?

While the Midlands may not be a clear focal point in my work, its presence here has definitely seeped into my subconscious, creating a more subtle, underlying influence. I was born in Scotland, but my parents moved down to South Derbyshire when I was a baby. I am immensely proud of my Scottish heritage but also feel like I’ve never fit in anywhere. I live and was raised in Derbyshire but I don’t feel like I’m ‘from’ or ‘belong’ to this area. This has given my work an added layer to the othering, I previously spoke of. There is a distance between me and the culture around me, which cannot help but bleed into the works I create.

You mention that these sketches are potentials for abstract paintings. Even though you’ve moved away from this idea; how would you have taken these sketches further as a painting?

I’ve always been fascinated by the curves and shapes that the human body forms. I’ve created paintings prior to this that focussed on the hips or the abdomen, but retained the fleshiness in the figure, but on a flat black background to highlight the lines and shapes that interest me. The next idea would have been to take those and reduce them down to basic lines, removing the detail of what makes them recognisable as people-shapes. Then, with those lines I could use them as the base to expand out with colour and form, so that a casual viewer might not notice where those initial beginnings came from.

A lot of what I used to paint before this is what I termed ‘abstract-figurative’, where you’d see the fleshiness of the figure on an abstract background. This would have been a next step, integrating the figure deeper into the complete canvas.

How do you integrate pop cultural iconography into your artwork? What role does this have in recontextualising the everyday experience?

My current practice uses the iconography of famous people as a cultural touchstone for the audience. They represent a shared familiarity, something that both audience and artist recognise and have in commonality. Then I use that as a representation of something bigger. A rock star will not just be a rock star, they become an avatar for a concept, an emotion.

In a way, the celebrity becomes image, and by recontextualising what that image means to the audience, I encourage them to consider, on a personal level, what else the objects around them could mean. A chair, in my work, is not always just a chair.

My practice, when it does become sculptural, is almost entirely built from ready-mades. I take the familiar and use it, or rebuild it, or deconstruct it, so that it is removed from its previous life. It should still be recognisable, but no longer inhabiting the space it did prior.

For your current artworks; what would the creative process be? Can you take us through how you would create an artwork.

My process is akin to building a Lego set without instructions. Because I have aphantasia, I cannot imagine a finished work. I always start with the vibe. What feeling do I want to convey in this work? What’s the mood? Then I start to assemble. With the video works, I find it hard going until I discover the way in, For instance, with my current film, the turning point was finding two pieces of footage that ‘clicked’ together. That’s when I knew it would be successful.

When I paint, it is much the same. I’ll freeform lines and brushstrokes and pencil marks until it starts to feel right. And then I just keep building on top of that, pushing and pulling the paint around until some part of me divines it’s in the right place. I never know what a finished work will look like, I have to keep adding and painting over and re-adding until it makes sense, and then keep going until it doesn’t.

I always say, I’ll know when something is finished, because I’ve broken it.

Are there any challenges you have faced as an artist? How have you surpassed these challenges?

Way back in the before-times, I was booted from a BA in Fine Art due to “not being good enough”. That did dent my confidence for a number of years, until I saw artists starting to come through with variations on the ideas and techniques I had been using. That gave me the impetus to start taking things a bit more seriously again, and to realise that what I had been doing had actual worth to it. I’m still not as confident as I used to be, but every day I keep creating is a little win.

Is there any upcoming projects you are planning? Or any directions you will take your artistic practice in the next part of this decade?

I have a fairly large-scale multimedia installation as part of an as-yet-untitled show in June in my adopted hometown of Derby. Several video works and sculptural hangings will be involved, and all the relevant dates will be announced in due course on my socials. After that, I’m hoping to devote the summer to painting and drawing again, before embarking on an MA programme. One of the more fun things about my various neurodivergences is that I have no real plan or map to follow with my art. Today I’m creating videos, next month I could be staging a performance outside Sainsbury’s. I find it much more rewarding to follow where the winds of inspiration lead me.

Standing studies (2024)
Charcoal on paper
These were quick sketches. The model presented poses that implied movement and I have subsequently used the images to create other pieces of work

Quick sketch (1993)
soft charcoal on cartridge paper
This was a 2 – 3 minute pose. The challenge was to make decisions, very quickly, as to where to place a few marks to suggest the pose.

Exploring compositional space (2024)
conte and charcoal on sugar paper
This was a life drawing that played with idea of using compositional space in a different way – by cropping the image to provide a different visual perspective. the use of black paper accentuated the contrast of the palette and seemed to suggest a transparency in the form

James (2019)
Pencil on paper
A sketch of James.

Benched (2019)
Pencil on paper
Strangers in the square.

She came down to let me in (2021)
Acrylic and mixed media on board
The painting was started in 2021 just after the passing of my mother. I found the shadow that occurred over the figure, too emotive to be able to continue with the painting. The female figure is looking up as the shadow of a figure descends and crosses her. The dress is collaged and tinted anaglypta wallpaper from my mothers house. Firstly I drew the figure of the woman then used charcoal and acrylic to work into the drawing. The shadow was not planned but took form and I am, as yet unable to work into the painting. It remains unfinished.

Woman with Yellow Background (2024)
Acrylic on Board
The painting of the woman with the yellow background was begun last year. The original drawing changed when the paint was applied. Her gaze developed a more questioning stare and I am not clear as to how to take her forward. The work remains unfinished. I have kept it displayed in my living space so that I can look at it, until I decide how to or even if I can proceed with the painting. I wonder if recently reading the American feminist book ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perking Gilman, has affected my relationship to the work.

Patrick (2024)
Acrylic on board
Unfinished portrait of Patrick who is my Nephew

Danny Lucy & Mindy (2023)
Acrylic on Paper
Self Portrait, entered for the Ruth Borchard Papinting prize(rejected) and now a finished work.

Drawing Afshin (2024)
graphite pencil, paint pen, market pen, and oil pastel on printer paper
In this piece I drew each pose using continuous line drawings, changing medium every time the pose length increased. I really enjoyed exploring the model using so many media

Come hither (2022)
watercolour pencil on card
I adore using watercolour pencils without any water because of the freedom they allow me – the soft nature of the medium means you can be light and expressive whilst also creating defined lines

Attractants Sketch 1/46 (2025)
charcoal and acrylic on paper
Sketch of the model and using paint to eliminate or exaggerate the areas of interest to the eye.(The Attractants). This is part of a considerable number of such works.

Attractants and environment sketch 1/46(unresolved) (2025)
acrylic on paper
More detailed working looking at light and areas that merge or contrast with the environment.

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Interview with Derek King

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You describe painting as “problem solving and creative exploration rather than direct representation. Can you expand upon the types of problems that you often try and solve through your art?

When faced with a question based on observation, I consider, with some depth and research, the primary issues involved. This is equally applied to the approach I might take in trying to resolve these issues. For example, I have always been influenced by water. It is the capturing of the physical such as, movement, the sheer expression of volume or the influence of the elements, coupled with the psychological considerations that collectively set the scene.

I may start working in a representative way, setting down the compositional considerations and as the work progresses some of the issues emerge as being more relevant or interesting than others. This in turn will significantly influence the direction of the investigation, with each abstraction reshaping the next.

The creative exploration is really the result of questioning “what if”, trying something and responding accordingly. This often results in a full bin! From this, however, I move towards resolution and hope that what I am trying to communicate is engaging with the viewer.

Can you bring us through your average creative process for an artwork? How do you turn your ideas into a finalised work?

My current investigations, as illustrated, are slowly developing towards a single large canvas. Each of the 30 plus works-in-progress show degrees of exploration, experimentation, playing, redrawing and so forth. Their influence will ensure that the final painting will never really be finished and will continue to evolve over time.

This is in stark contrast to how I approached painting the Marine Lake in West Kirby. Each of the near 100 paintings have each expressed something individual about the lake, its environment, scale and on it goes. The concept was to show the familiar and casually accepted scene in as many challenging ways as possible.

In this sense, I have no average creative process. Each exploration is an adventure with no set plan of execution or preconceived ideas as to the look of the final work. There is no A to Z, I’m afraid.

What brought you to explore how the eye moves and why it chooses to see things and ignore things?

I often debate the point of difference between “Looking “and “Seeing”. We look around us constantly. Our eyes never stay still but because we get bombarded with visual information, our brain filters a great amount out. We can look at the model and yet we still get the proportions wrong, the angles across the shoulders going in the wrong direction etc. This is because we become pre-programmed in a way to recognise but not absorb all the information. Seeing is quite different!

I am currently taking this further in that I am curious to discover what I see first, the subsequent points of focus and what these are. My current work is my attempt to draw this path and still acknowledge the environment in which the model sits. Highlights and shadow areas tend to be the first “attractants” and areas of the highest contrast. It is not that my eyes are ignoring areas, it is simply seeing things in a sequence. The psychological reasoning behind which I have yet to fully understand.

How do you hope the viewer will respond to these “attractants” and how they interpret these works? Have you had any responses that surprised you?

I hope the idea of the “attractants” become more obvious as the viewers sees more evidence of the investigation. I’d hope that having understood the context they would begin to ask similar questions of what they are “seeing”, be it in their own work or simply when observing and getting more from the experience. It may cause the viewer to pause a moment and witness what is truly there and not the brains filtered version.

For viewers and practitioners alike, when looking at a painting, identifying what we see first is a potent start in the communication between the work and viewer. Coupled with a deeper understanding of visual construction and composition leads to a very strong and exciting way of seeing art.

Responses to date have been very positive towards this latest exploration. Like most work that isn’t photorealistic, people want to know more and engage and once the context of the image is appreciated the positivity towards the work increases. Ultimately, I hope the response is that they engage to the point of taking emotional ownership of the piece.

How do you decide on the level of abstract in a specific piece? Is this something that happens organically or a conscious choice?

Kaizen is a Japanese word meaning, Improvement or Change for the Better. This has, since the 1950’s, been interpreted as “Continuous Improvement”, a philosophy adopted particularly in the commercial world. My work is developmental in so far as it is constantly changing and hopefully for the better. It is difficult to pin-point the degree of abstraction the work will take as, by its very nature, it is organically growing.

There are times when the level of abstraction appears measured and controlled and others quite random or unrelated. They are, however, always considered and this can include the serendipitous that is left in the work. Compositional strength and visual balance are always important and even more so in the most abstract works.

My work always starts with something tangible from which different ideas and explorations emerge. This is one of the reasons I like to work on a 10m roll of lining paper, jumping from one “what if” to the next.

Are there any challenges you have faced as an artist? How have you surpassed these challenges?

Every day is a challenge!

Self-doubt is pervasive and is compounded when you work predominantly in isolation. You finish the day thinking things are going in the right direction only to wake thinking it’s not as good as you thought. I now court the opinions of a very few select fellow artists who I know to be honest, constructive and direct in their appraisal. It is not a fear of criticism but the honesty of the perspective that, for me, makes all the difference.

A further contributing factor to overcoming self-doubt has been the mantra that, it doesn’t matter. The freedom to create is far greater when the drive to paint in a very formulaic, technical and methodical way is overcome. Painting for oneself rather than the approval of others is liberating. It is, however, managed with some caution as the ability to draw and construct remain essential prerequisites to work of any calibre.

This is perhaps more a criticism than a challenge but finding suitable outlets for the work is, I fear, an increasingly difficult obstacle for all. Gallery closures, exclusivity and underlying economic pressures are but a few of the ongoing criteria.

Is there any upcoming projects you are planning? Or any direction you will take your artistic practice in the next part of this decade?

In the short-term I am looking to resolve the issue of “Attractants and Environment” which will possibly finish with the large painting of the model. What I have learned from this series will no doubt influence future works and as I feel the work is taking on a sculptural feel I may reintroduce some 3D work in clay.

As I suggested earlier, each day is a challenge and an exploration so I’m not quite sure where the next adventure will take me. Perhaps my recent travels across Italy and Portugal will throw up some, as yet, unexplored paths.

Dancers (2014)
ink and charcoal on paper
Dancers. This work was few times rejected, however I love this painting very much myself. This remembrance became vivid when I was sketching these dancers and inspired me to express more vibrantly through painting. Later on the canvas, I recreated the bright image of the models dissolving with the background: splashes of water, rays of morning sun caught on the wall or floor. Slow movement of the dancers submerged into their inner world or process, nearly forgetting about being painted.

Near grand piano, unfinished piece (2017)
acrylic on paper
This work as an rather experiment of combining a nude sketch and acrylic abstract painting