A.TODD
63x32cm
A. Todd creates poetic, sensory-driven work that explores memory, decay, resilience, and the unseen details of everyday life. With a limited yet symbolic palette of mostly black, white, and pink, and a practice shaped by abstraction, instinct, and design, his work reflects a deep sensitivity to space, texture, and feeling. From attic residencies to sculptural experiments, Todd invites viewers into quiet emotional landscapes.
CONVERSATION
Current Work
How would you describe your artistic or curatorial practice in a few words?
I use materials to explore emotional resonance — personal feelings, hidden narratives, sentimentality, and moments that hover between decay and beauty. My practice is deeply sensory. I pay close attention to smell, visual texture, and the unseen details that often go unnoticed. I create small vignettes that feel dreamlike, strange yet familiar, and occasionally unsettling. There’s always a tension between what is revealed and what is concealed.
What themes or ideas are central to your work right now?
My work explores the tension between memory and decay, the way things fall apart and persist at the same time. I’m interested in resilience — emotional, physical, and material — and how beauty can be found in what’s damaged or overlooked. Dreams and symbolism often shape the mood of my pieces, drawing from feelings rather than facts. The body is always there too, whether hinted at through gesture or embedded in the work’s texture.
I’m influenced by industrial landscapes and urban edges — spaces of escape, abandonment, or transition — and how they mirror inner states. My work seeks connection, both subtle and emotional, and is grounded in a deep sense of sentimentality. Behaviour, especially the small, quiet ways we interact with objects and spaces, informs how I think about placement and presence.
Are there any projects or exhibitions you're currently working on that you’re excited about?
I’ve just become an elected member of the Newlyn Society of Artists, which is an exciting step. I’m also planning to curate my own exhibition — perhaps a group show — in an unconventional space. I’m drawn to venues that feel unusual and atmospheric, rather than traditional white cubes. In that spirit, I recently completed a residency and solo show at Krowji titled Bill’s Attic, where I created and exhibited work surrounded by a surreal and brilliant collection of found objects. That show allowed me to respond directly to the character of the attic space, and it’s a format I’d love to revisit — intimate, strange, and full of personality.
Anything that inspires you in particular?
I’m drawn to fleeting, quietly profound moments — a decaying wall, a trail of rust beneath a nail, the lace curtain in a stranger’s window. These details hold emotion and memory. I’m also influenced by my own mortality and the softness of things falling apart. In art school, a project on colour and emotion sparked a lifelong interest in art as therapy and the psychological role of aesthetics. These ideas continue to shape my practice.
Exploring your visual identity
How would you define your visual or brand identity?
My identity is instinctual, poetic, and slightly anarchic. There’s a visual aesthetic shaped by design, but then always an element of chaos that interrupts the control. I work with a limited colour palette across pieces, so things feel like they belong together even when they conflict. There’s often a physical tension — clean lines meet organic deterioration.
Colour plays a vital role — black, white, and pink each carry symbolic weight for me. Pink, for example, represents warmth, protection, and the gentle light seen through closed eyelids. It’s a colour of concealment, but also joy. My palette gives the work a sense of consistency even when the materials or formats shift.
Are there particular values, moods, or stories you aim to convey through how you present your work?
My work is personal. If it feels honest to me, that’s enough. I want the viewer to feel invited, but not overly directed. The goal is to offer a space for reflection, curiosity, and quiet discomfort. I prefer to install my own work, letting it interact with the space — pieces might hang low to the floor, reach into a corner, or disappear into the ceiling. It’s about letting the work breathe and connect across thresholds.
How you bring your artistic identity to life
How do you express your identity?
I’m hands-on. I create things with gut instinct but shape them carefully. A background in design influences how I build layouts — whether it’s for a show, a booklet, or my website. I like things to feel complete but never over-explained. I’ve recently experimented with making books, merging visual art with abstract poetry — painting with words — to explore emotion and texture through language.
While I appreciate digital presentation, I often find joy in DIY approaches, especially in building atmospheres within physical spaces. I’m always curious to see how others curate my work, but I still prefer environments that I can shape from scratch.
Have any of those elements become signature to your practice?
I think so. My website and publications have developed a distinct visual language. My colour palette and how I arrange work in space — often interrupting the expected — have also become recognisable aspects of my practice.
Looking ahead
What’s your next big focus or direction?
I continue pushing myself creatively and emotionally. I’m eager to explore more sound and video, possibly film-based work that combines visuals with poetry or spoken word. I’m drawn to more experimental, interdisciplinary approaches — anything that expands what art can be or how it’s felt. I’m also hoping to bring my work to more people, especially in places where art isn’t usually found.
Is there something you’d love to do more of creatively or in how you present your work?
I’d love access to unusual, forgotten spaces — old boarded-up buildings, empty shops, lost architecture. I plan to make more books, including something more ambitious like a hardback. I’m satisfied by making work for myself, but I also know it’s time to let the work be seen and shared more widely.
A selection of your favourite artworks, next events ?
Some works that feel especially close to me include:
· Aponeurosis — A sculptural meditation on inner tension and physical connection.
· Leucine — A painting that suggests release and containment, referencing emotional tears and their biological role in regulating stress.
· Egressus — A piece about departure, emotion, and escape.
· Umbra — A reflection on the darkest part of a shadow and the edge between presence and absence.
