[KEAF2011] James Topple

James Topple (UK)

After experiencing a teenage identity crisis and a self-termed ‘romance of self loathing’ during his early twenties, James Topple read and shredded every piece of angst-ridden poetry he had ever written in his degree show and began a new life exploring his postmodern self. Using throwaway terms such as ‘ignorantism’ and wearing his trademark ‘I love thinking’ t-shirt, Topple presents a self-reflection that is fragmented and malleable. Often making cynical and self-righteous social commentaries, Topple likes to adopt the direct approach of advertising to portray brutally honest judgments. Wishing the viewers to look inside themselves, he claims he has stamped his name upon opinions that may or may not be his own, looking to provoke a reaction of some kind of mirror effect on his audience.