Covenant - A Solo Exhibition
Below you can see the art work displayed in the virtual gallery by Patrick Morales Lee. The exhibition is based around the ideas of identity and belonging.
From the schoolyard to being an adult, we constantly look to define ourselves by trying to fit into a group. Aspiring to be one of the ‘cool kids’, aligning yourself with a religious faith or football team, fashion, music, brands and celebrities: the sense of being in a tribe is all around us.
The work looks to showcase snapshot scenarios – a soft narrative to a given situation, process or ceremony. These scenarios could be, on one hand, unsettling or odd, but to others comforting and familiar.
Often the figure is depicted within a ceremony; much of Patrick’s inspiration for this work is taken from the Christian ceremony of Communion and the idea of transformation, the idea of taking on something new. There is belief in an ‘action’ - the action of taking bread and wine representing the body and blood of Christ. He calls this ‘active belonging’, the idea that people will participate physically and mentally in an action, a ceremony, to show to themselves and to others that they believe, that there is meaning in the process, that they aren’t alone, they belong to something - and ultimately giving tangible meaning to their own lives.
About Patrick Morales-Lee
Patrick Morales-Lee was taught by the painter John Virtue and graduated alongside friend and peer Antony Micallef. During the last few years, he has exhibited in a number of shows, selling work to a handful of well know collectors and exhibited alongside artists such as Antony Gormley, Antony Lister, Stanley Donwood, Vhils, Pure Evil and FAILE.
The work deals with the idea of identity and belonging. Fostered at the age of three, Patrick was constantly and acutely aware of his surroundings and the need to fit in growing up. Looking back, he recognises those feelings as universal and the work looks to explore the ‘human condition’, specifically what makes people do what they do to have a sense of belonging – from the everyday to the extreme.