A solitary boy is framed by the picture window of the Tate St. Ives rooftop terrace. Hooded, and seen from behind, we’re left to fill in the blanks and complete the narrative. We can only imagine what he’s thinking and feeling. Perhaps the endless and empty sea is a reflection of his mind?
Oli’s work seeks to portray arresting figurative forms in a way that unlocks the viewer's imagination and perception of how the world around us is viewed, presented and re-presented. His aim is to encourage the viewer to question perception and aesthetics, to raise a smile in the mind.
Oli is drawn to finding and re-presenting beauty in unexpected contexts - how often do we look at filling stations, industrial buildings or road markings and see beauty? Mumby’s work encourages the viewer to look, and more importantly see.
In a bid to step away from realism and explore a more expressive and stylistic approach to figurative painting and mark-making, much of Oli’s recent work combines collage and paper cut with mixed media.
Oli often begins with the seed of an idea, and sets out to create the conditions for a flexible and evolutionary process. His intention is to effectively work in collaboration with the developing piece itself - encouraging forms, compositions and ideas to emerge organically.
With a background in advertising art direction, Mumby’s work often aims to engage an audience on more than a purely aesthetic level. There are nods towards pop culture and surrealism as his work represents or comments on interesting forms and narratives found in unlikely and untraditional contexts; from retail environments to PR stunts and park playgrounds.