Artist Statement — Clinton Goodwin

Born in 1997 in Perth, Australia, my journey of self-expression began as a child. It is within those early stages of life that we are given the chance to truly explore ourselves and our inner world. From the outside, my origins could perhaps be perceived as unstable in many ways, but I have always been capable of finding my 'Muse' in just about anything. An image, an emotion, an idea or a strange feeling could hold my attention and reveal something beyond what was immediately visible.

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Having always been a thinker and considering myself a spiritual person, I was drawn from a young age towards religion, philosophy, mysticism and the magical world of the occult. I became fascinated by questions surrounding existence, the human psyche and the possibility of something unseen existing behind ordinary perception.

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It was not until January of 2023, at the age of 25, that I picked up a paintbrush for the first time. The seed had been planted during a holiday in Norway, where I was exposed to the deeply prolific works of Edvard Munch. Seeing how paint could capture such powerful and intimate ideas made me realise that the internal world I had spent so much time exploring could finally be given form. It felt like, finally, I found my pulse.

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Initially captivated by Expressionism, I gravitated towards a stripped-down approach, using colour to reflect emotional intensity rather than literal representation. Depending on the intentions of a work, I occasionally turn towards more classical techniques, manipulating light, shadow and skin tones to build atmosphere and depth.

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During these early experimental years, I realised that complete vulnerability was essential in discovering my artistic voice. Themes of internal struggle, tragedy, mysticism, rebellion, revelation and empowerment began to emerge naturally. Painting became more than an aesthetic pursuit; it became a way of translating personal revelations into something larger than myself.

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My creative process is largely guided by the subconscious. With no formal training, I often begin by sketching random imagery stemming from emotions or particular states of mind. Only afterwards do I psychoanalyse what has emerged, searching for what I sometimes call 'messages of the divine'. I then build upon these images, attaching symbolic values until a composition begins to reveal itself. I have also explored esoteric practices, including forms of shamanism, as a means of planting different images and ideas into my 'pulse' for inspiration.

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I would describe my style as Uncanny. My work often feels like an altered state of reality, where fragmented pieces of the human psyche become embodied within characters, environments and symbolic forms. Bold colours contrast with visceral environmental imagery, reflecting the relationship between our internal perception and the world around us.

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They say an image is worth a thousand words, which is one of the reasons I chose visual art as my medium. There are certain ideas and emotions that language cannot fully contain. I see my paintings as portals into the magical world that I myself have always been fascinated by. I do not seek to prescribe one definitive meaning; instead, I want the imagery to encourage curiosity and allow each viewer to discover something personal within it.

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Ultimately, painting is an ongoing process of self-realisation — an attempt to unlock something unseen that exists somewhere behind the eye. The work begins with me, but once it enters the world, its meaning becomes something shared between the image, the viewer and whatever part of themselves it manages to awaken.