About
Over 17 years of collaboration, Roxy Topia and Paddy Gould have developed a multidisciplinary practice centred on painted sculpture and drawing. They use polyphonic or incongruous sensibilities across their works and exhibitions. Varying themes, from reflective nostalgia, to how our creativity, experiences, and interactions are mediated through technology and wider power structures, are explored.
Current work takes the form of painted additive reliefs that consider the varying effects of digital technology upon our attention and perception. Initiated through imaginative drawings and then crafted from MDF, aluminium, and polymer clay, these materials are then painted in various styles, drawing inspiration from digital collages formed during the process. A translation of images where information is changed, lost or represented a new through the analogue. This component-based approach lends a slightly manufactured quality, reminiscent of vinyl graphics, medical models, and signage, yet retains a friendly, animated character. Recent pieces have been titled based on conversations with ChatGPT.
Topia and Gould meticulously handcraft, assemble, and paint their works, fostering a localised and intimate collaboration. This hands-on approach merges conscious and unconscious creative processes, allowing shared agency to interplay with spontaneity and chance, leading to new discoveries.
Artist couple Roxy Topia and Paddy Gould have been working together since 2008 and are based in Merseyside, UK. Periodically they collaborate with others, often on independent publications through their press Pink Sands Studio, founded in 2018. Their first UK institutional show, “Let Your Ideas Come Back As Children,” with Cormac Gould took place at The Bluecoat in Liverpool in 2024.
Works available to purchase via the platform Gertrude