Paul Chisholm
The diverse oeuvre of Paul Chisholm embodies themes both acutely personal and universally human. Having grown up under the oppressive anti-gay laws and attitudes in England during the 1980s and 1990s, Chisholm found solace in art and began his artistic practice at the age of 16. His work is informed by these challenges, as well as the resiliency of the human spirit and the LGBTQ+ community, and finally, by Chisholm’s own identity as a contemporary British Queer artist.
Paul Chisholm.
To discover more about Chisholm’s art, please visit his website or his Instagram.
Throughout Chisholm’s youth and adolescence, he consistently found his calling in the art room at school. It was the only place he felt he was able to express himself as a gay-identifying person living under the societal prejudices resulting from Section 28. Section 28 was a series of laws enacted in 1988 prohibiting discussions of LGBTQ+ identity in public, specifically barring it from acceptance within schools. This prevailing and legally-legitimised homophobia furthered his feelings of isolation. That such repression could lead to a flourishing of artistic energy within Chisholm is a testament to his ability to turn difficult circumstances into art. Such experiences drove him to continue his artistic pursuits by studying Fine Art and Textiles at Warwickshire College and then receiving his BA in Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University.
Since then, Chisholm’s work has taken on many different forms, as his thematic concerns cannot be adequately captured with one medium. These themes range from his desire to develop his artistic process in a way which helps him deal with his own mental health as well as issues close to his heart which include HIV/AIDS awareness and mental health. Painting, found materials, poetry, and sculpture all feature in his practice. Chisholm not only investigates these causes by creating art but also by supporting charities dedicated to them.
Viral Load, 2010. Rubber and glass-headed pins. 14 cm x 8 cm.
One of Chisholm’s most innovative charitable donations was in 2017, when his sculpture Viral Load (2010) was sold in the Terrence Higgins Trust auction at Christie’s. The Terrence Higgins Trust is the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity. Chisholm created Viral Load to visualise the HIV virus and the pain caused by contracting it. Additionally, the pins also resemble a Voodoo doll and intentionally reference the doll’s potential to be used as a source for love, healing, protection, and success. With this duality in mind, Viral Load conveys both the shock of an HIV diagnosis and the ability of those diagnosed to live fulfilling lives.
Left: My Magical Mental Illness Power, 2018. Fabric and wadding. Dimensions variable.
Right: My Magical Mental Illness Power, 2019. Tights, wadding, badges, jammy dodgers.
Chisholm also visualises an abstract and seemingly untranslatable phenomenon in his series My Magical Mental Illness Power (2018-2019). Rather than dwelling on the debilitating aspects of mental health, the title of the work reclaims the power lost by its stereotypes. In this affirmation, Chisholm removes the stigma that still surrounds mental health and encourages others to view it similarly. More specifically, My Magical Mental Illness Power does not render mental health into something dark or glum-looking. Instead, Chisholm sees it as tangled, worm-like tubes with buttons and stripes on them. The series adapts struggle into neutrality, with hints of playfulness, while still acknowledging the complexity of mental health issues.
Moreover, Chisholm’s exploration of emotional states carries through his sculptures into his paintings. One of his recent series of works, The Lost Children of Paradise (2019), depicts clowns - a subject of fascination for Chisholm. The clown entertains, in his own words, like “a vagabond, an outsider and a fool dedicated to his Art.” Clowns are an obvious example of innate human tendencies to mask true feelings or emotions and put on a show for others. Thus, they make salient the contradiction between showing the world one’s true self and hiding it, a common subject within Chisholm’s visual practice. The Lost Children of Paradise demonstrates Chisholm’s commitment to illustrating the human spirit and to delving into how identity affects our daily life.
Works from The Lost Children of Paradise series, 2019. Household paint on Hessian board.
In the upcoming year, Chisholm will look forward to presenting two solo shows at The Brewery Tap Project Space in Folkestone, Kent, and at The Lightbox Museum in Woking, Surrey. He currently works at his studio in Bletchingley, Surrey, and is considering a PhD in Contemporary Arts Practice to further research his practice in a more theoretical and analytical way. Chisholm’s aim to effect change through his art was best exemplified in what he considers his greatest achievement to date when in 2019, his text art piece and the poem “I’m Tired” (2017) was read aloud at Tate Liverpool as a part of the Keith Haring: Art and Activism in 1980s New York symposium. The most important element of Chisholm’s career at the moment is to continue producing and exhibiting artwork and to continue supporting charities meaningful to him through his art.
I’m Tired, 2018. Text. Dimensions and prints variable.
Selected Exhibitions:
Solo Exhibitions
2022
The Tronie’s of Croydon-OH, Turf Project Space, Croydon, London
2021
The Lost Children of Paradise, Bletchingley, Castle, Surrey
2020
The Dust Museum, Nell Lyhnes Wanderkammer, Chelsea College of Arts
2019
McWhimsical Performance, Hoxton253 Gallery, London
2018
Fanfare - OOMPAH OOMPAH, La Maison Bleue, Pentecoste Festival, Vic Fezensac, The Gers, France
2015
A Sight for Sore Eyes, Stanhope Gardens Gallery, London
2012
Battle Ground, Espai d’Art Waka, Palma, Mallorca, Spain
Group Exhibitions
2023
The Horatio’s Garden Auction, Wallace & Wallace, UK
The Bletchfest, Bletchingley Arts Festival, Surrey
The Terrence Higgins Trust Auction, Christie’s, London
Postcards from the Edge, Ortuzar Projects, New York, NY
2022
Our Home, Ukraine Fundraiser Exhibitions, St. John’s College, Oxford
Bletchingley Open, Village Hall, Surrey
Postcards from the Edge, Visual Aids New York, Arts Benefit
The Terrence Higgins Trust Auction, Christie’s, London
COVID-19 Fine Art Summer Show, Chelsea College of Arts, London
2020
The Terrence Higgins Trust Auction, Christie’s, London
2019
HOMOPROMO, Herman Miller, London
Too Much World, Curated by Anni Li from the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, The Cookhouse Gallery, London
The Silent Auction, Christie’s, London
Cookies & Coke, A Contemporary Art Show Presented by Batch Collective, The Biscuit Factory, London
Paint! White Conduit Street Projects, Angel, London
Art Fems, LGBTQ History Month, Central St. Martins, London
2018
Pigs Can Get Sunburn, The Cookhouse Gallery, London
Blue Dot Generation, Plastic in the Oceans, House of Vans Gallery, London
Chapter 1 Exhibition, The Old Biscuit Factory, Curated by ARTNUMBER23, London
2017
Queer Art(ists) Now, Archive Gallery, London
The Debut, The Ply Gallery, London
The Terrence Higgins Trust Auction, Christie’s, London
Gabriella Hetu
Emerging Artists Co-Editor, MADE IN BED