the rise of the Rubbish Artist

Dan is a maximalist multi-disciplined artist based in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire.

 

Some people collect stamps, some people collect fine art...then there's Dan who collects rubbish.

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Not just any rubbish, mind you. we're talking about the noble detritus of civilisation - the abandoned cardboard kingdoms, the tragically misunderstood toaster innards, the forgotten lidless margarine tubs that once dreamed of greatness. Where most people see a trip hazard, Dan sees a smoking dragon, or possibly even a confused badger...it really depends on the lighting.

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Armed with a glue gun, boundless imagination, and a healthy disregard of life's instruction manual, the Rubbish Artist transforms discarded nonsense into glorious nonsense-with-purpose: scale models, sculptures, characters, stop-motion sets, and the occasional naked bus driver (don't ask).

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Along the way, Dan somehow convinced Leeds Art University to give him an MA in Creative Practice - a course which involved deep artistic exploration, academic rigour, and a great deal of explaining to tutors why he was wheeling in large cardboard ducks into the studio... It was very educational.

 

Dan originally trained as a spatial designer, honed by 12 years of working as an interior designer, and battle-tested by real life (and a 20 year stint in the police force, which explains the ability to spot a dodgy wheelie bin at twenty paces)Dan has turned their creative practice into a joyful rebellion against waste, mundanity, and the tyranny of the straight forward.

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So if you've ever looked at a broken coat hanger and thought blimey that could be a excitable giraffe, you're in the right place.

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