HELLO!!!!

If you've found this blog, that's just snazzy... but you may have noticed I don't post here anymore! Why not pop by my website instead? That would be just lovely.

i-like-cats.co.uk

Love TOBY OLIVER DEAN XOXOXOXOXOX

hello!

http://tobyoliverdean.tumblr.com/

The animals, America, and me.

5

Across the sea,

4

In my dreams,

3

Oh, America,

2

America,

1

K, hi.

I'M BACK.

K Bye! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Going to Disneyland for a few months, see you at the end of September. In the mean time

FOLLOW MY TUMBLR

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Dig a little hole, not three inches round.

I said a sort of prayer for some sort of rare grace
Then thought I ought to take her to a higher place
Said: "dog nor vulture nor cat shall toy with you
And though you die, bird, you will have a fine view"

Look what I did!

 

Yeah! I did a graduate! Im sure theres probably better pictures of me on the day but this is the only one Ive seen. Graduation is SO MUCH FUN. I kept getting the giggles major. Even though the whole morning I thought I was gonna faint or be sick or trip up the steps and I also had to go tie shopping at 9AM because aparently bow ties arent good enough ho hum. Thats me with my mam, isn't she a Betty?

I should also tell you that even though Im now a Bachelor of Arts and have spent the last four years preparing to enter the REAL WORLD, I am still clinging onto being some kind of non-adult, so next week im going travelling across America for 2 and a half months, woohoo! So basically this blog will become even more neglected than it has been for the last few months. It's ok though because if you follow my TUMBLR (do it do it do it do it) you will be rewarded with the 90+ beautiful pictures I have pre-uploaded into my tumblr queue, the feed will spit one out daily, the whole time Im away!!! I might also try and do a few scheduled blog posts before I leave but no promz. I've really been enjoying the freerer Tumblr layout actually, and I am a complete hoarder so its nice to share some of the images I love with everyone. Im also pretty proud that each image is hand scanned by me from my collection, rather than just being regurgutations of everything else.

You can tell I havent blogged in ages because now I can't stop typing!!!!

Anyway heres my Tumblr, please follow!!!
HERE!

Oh PS while I'm here, CONGRATULATIONS to all my fellow graduates and wonderful art friends - Class of 2011 bitches!!!! I honestly will miss you all so much!! weep weep xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

DI$CUNT

The DISCOUNT SUPERSTORE has finally gone live and "OMG BUY" it is soooo cool. Pretty much haven't been this excited about anything in ages. Not in a 'wow I wanna buy all this shit' way, more like 'ooooohhhhh nice picture, another ncie picture, another nice picture' way y'know?? Because everything they've made or sourced for the shop is sooooo amazing!!! If I was a super rich chick I would want it all!!
The girls have been really good at buildng up the excitement, I really love just how much they seem to enjoy what they do, they love the hype! and really its great to see it all taking off. Deffo check em.

Dog eyes and a hanging tongue

 

Just found this amazing First Aid Kit cover of Fever Ray... Can't believe Ive only just found it as it seems to have been around since the end of last year. So nice to hear one of my favourite bands covering another of my favourites, I really love how they've done it. I've been at home for the last few days so took a million pictures of my cats... you'll probably see the rest in the next few weeks, joy joy joy.

Wilderness

For The Animals/To The Animals/Statement

Humans possess an intense and beautiful relationship with death, love and animals. The bond between the three is strong, but often unspoken.  This has been the point of departure for my work. I believe that the marriage between an individual and animals is strange, close and complex; be it with a pet, a childhood mascot, the birds in the sky or the meat on their plate.

 

Working with film has allowed me to explore these ideas, combining different visual and audio elements into one piece. I take naturalistic footage of animals which is then cut and pasted together to form a poetic portrait of nature, domesticity and dominion. Voiceovers – often of a contrasting or seemingly contradictory tone - are layered on top to piece together the underlying visual narrative, although much of this is left for the viewer to determine for themselves.

Large scale sculptural pieces or installations often accompany these film works. It is my intention to use these physical objects to enhance and heighten the emotive essence of the pieces, rather than to add any further narrative to the work. For these pieces the form of the human memorial is enlarged and exaggerated and dedicated to dead pets, road kill, and the victims of the slaughterhouse. There is a gentle sincerity to this action which prevents the work from becoming twee or humorous, while at the same time retaining a dark honesty in terms of the human imagery associated with such memorials. 

 

The interchangeable relationship between our significance and insignificance on this planet remains at the forefront of my work and motivates me to recognise the subtlety and fragility of existence. This is achieved through amplifying, distorting and subverting personal idiosyncrasies into poetic commentaries.

For The Animals
Installation, Fake, dried and fresh flowers.
To The Animals
Film, 7minutes29seconds
(C) Toby Oliver Dean 2011

All images with thanks to Siobhan Belingy.

Meow

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Bad things coming, we are safe.