Theo Polymorphos, a Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory member, provides some fascinating insights into his practice and experience as a painter of imaginative realism as he responds to the questions below:
- What type of art do you create and what motivates you to make it?
- What is your biggest pain point as an artist?
- Tell us about an important life moment that influenced the direction of your work, and how.
- How has social media changed your practice?
What type of art do you create and what motivates you to make it?
Inspired by Orphic mysteries and modern Romanticism, I record ethereal visions in oil on canvas, blending re-imagined myths with my own personal narratives. My symbolist paintings depict a queer Otherworld where youthful protagonists learn lessons on ecstasy, initiation, and metamorphosis from more-than-human beings; gods and spirits, flora and fauna, elements and luminaries. Orphic myths are largely absent from the canon of Western painting, and queer stories are often concealed or excluded. My vision is to fill this gap, and paint the mysteries with my own queer twist. For somebody to walk away from my painting feeling seen, inspired, and connected to the cosmos – that is what drives me.
What is your biggest pain point as an artist?
It’s cliché at this point, but social media algorithms. No doubt, social media can be a powerful tool for artists and today is one of the main ways to get seen and discovered. But all the ways we have to game the algorithm with keywords or hashtags, censoring nudity, editing videos down to just a few seconds, engagement-baiting, picking trending audio, posting frequently and regularly… it quickly becomes an overwhelming distraction that feels totally tangential to my art and its message. I wish the platforms were more conducive to sharing art in-depth rather than superficial distractions
Tell us about an important life moment that influenced the direction of your work, and how.
A firsthand experience of the Mysteries in my mid-thirties blasted open the doors of my consciousness and completely transformed my life. It was a really difficult time of loss and burnout, but powerful spiritual forces reached out to help. I rediscovered my love for mythology, and encountered the Orphics for the first time. I learned to meditate and found a world of living symbols just under my surface consciousness. Synchronicity after synchronicity, the universe showed me I was not alone. These spiritual experiences are still my main source of inspiration and the reason why I create.
How has social media changed your practice?
Social media provokes me to ask different questions about my work and how I present it than I otherwise would. For example, how will this composition look on a small screen, and how can I present it effectively? Will this nude figure get me shadow banned, and if so, how important is it to the narrative? Can I crop it without sacrificing the overall look and feel? How obviously does this piece connect with the works that came before it, and will they look cohesive on my profile page? What stories can I tell about the work that are accessible and engaging to viewers with very short attention spans? What angles or perspectives are most interesting to people today?
At the end of the day, I ultimately defer to my paintings on how they want to look and be presented, but I do consider the social lens, hopefully in a way that expands my vision rather than limiting it.
Join cutting-edge artists from around the world
The Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory is a powerful tool for artists looking to grow their visibility, and connect with fellow artists, curators and collectors. To join the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory click here for more information.
