Castlemaine artist Ned Middleton will launch his latest exhibition, The Revolution of Mega Music Videos, in the Phee Broadway Theatre foyer at Castlemaine Library this Thursday.
Living with Down syndrome has never stopped Ned from living life to the fullest. He is passionate about all things music and is a presenter with MainFM’s Able Radio, a regular at Castlemaine PubSing, and enjoys dance at Movement Zone while juggling this with his job with the team at Shedshaker Brewing.
In more recent years, Ned has crossed over to explore the world of art and the paintings in this exhibition are the result of nearly three years of studio practice at Lot 19 Arts Space.
Ned’s previous two exhibitions, The Big Reveal at Lot 19 Gallery in 2022 and The Revolution of Music at The Taproom at Shedshaker Brewing as part of the 2023 Castlemaine Fringe Festival were a huge success.
This has spurred Ned on to continue painting and he has since received offers of exhibitions, commissions and has had more sales.
In fact, he recently created a piece commissioned by Mount Alexander Shire Council, which features Castlemaine and proudly hangs in the foyer of the Civic Centre.
Working alongside fellow artist and mentor, Tobias Richardson, Ned paints bright, larger-than-life paintings of his favourite pop stars.
Tobias said Ned applied a raw, unedited style to his painting, tapping into his inherent feel for colour and line, and his love of music and film. His works are bold, tough and unique.
“All the paintings in this exhibition were completed in 2023, and demonstrate a move to more complex larger artworks with lots of activity, inspired by music videos and movies,” Tobias said.
Works in the latest exhibition feature some of Ned’s favourite artists including the Vengaboys, The Spice Girls, Aqua, KLF and even a Bollywood-inspired piece.
Ned said he had very much enjoyed creating the latest exhibition and each artwork had taken around a month to complete.
He encourages viewers to look a little closer to see all the hidden elements in each painting, which include images, text, paper and other materials.
He is particularly proud of his latest collage of the Vengaboys video clip Hot, Hot, Hot, which includes a ‘cheeky’ new 3D electronic element thanks to friend Alex. We won’t reveal too much, let’s just say ‘twerking’ could be involved!
The community is invited attend the opening celebration of Ned’s latest work this Thursday January 18 from 5pm-6.30pm.
The Revolution of Mega Music Videos runs until February 5. Mon-Wed 10-5.30, Thurs 10-7, Friday 10-5.30, Sat 9.30-2.
