Jonathan Armour
Jonathan Armour is a trans-media artist, originally from Northern Ireland, now based in London. Armour’s practice is an interplay between digital and oil-based works, including mappings of non-normative bodies, and digital investigations of the human body as a celebrated, objectified, abstracted form.
Often the work is driven by a desire to get under the skin, to pare away the superficial and reveal the substance, but it can be an urge to access the entire surface of the body in one go, to map the body like a terrain and to inspect its geography.
Armour’s practice involves collaboration with real people and invokes two sides of his brain: the scientific side interrogates digitised bodies, often resulting in time-based works – underpinned by an urge to make the pixel more visceral. The instinctive side has developed skills in oil painting – chosen for its ability to become flesh on the canvas.
From a first degree in Engineering, Armour completed an MA in Fine Art (Distinction) in 2015.
Armour was recently artist in residence with Perfection|Speculation at Praksis in Oslo Norway, which started on 15th August 2020 and cumulated with an exhibition at the Vigeland Museum in September 2021. This international team on Perfection|Speculation was investigating the modifiable human body.
Armour was commissioned to produce 5 new works for the “All our tomorrows…” conference at King’s College London, for the Anatomy Lecture Theatre and the main Anatomy Theatre.
Armour’s creative practice is supported by the Arts Council England, and his work has been exhibited widely in the UK, Europe, Australia and USA. Despite the pandemic, in 2020 Armour had work selected for exhibitions in 5 countries, plus 2 online shows, and this continued in 2021 with work selected for Wells Art Contemporary (UK) and World of Light in Auckland, NZ.
