Two emerging artists unveil the mayhem under the calm

The pristine walls of Monster Children Gallery and the suburban buzz of the Darlinghurst streets outside, make a stark contrast to the worlds created by Mark Whalen and Cleon Peterson in their new exhibition, The Mirror Stage.

Peterson’s monochromatic paintings of violence and abuse are like a stop motion animation version of a Tarantino film. His figures clash in turbulent scenes, committing random acts of violence.

There is no symbolism or masking of raw brutality—Peterson unveils the frustrations simmering under the surface of contemporary society. Revealing a primordial anger, his figures punch and stab, rip each other apart and claw at each other. Every character is sinister—there are no winners or losers, no good versus evil.

Peterson paints the world he saw, living on the streets as a junkie. “I see violence and drugs and sex as passionate climaxes of the plot,” he told Anthem Magazine. “With the colour and energy within these paintings, I’m trying to create this world where everything is about to fall apart at the seams – where there’s so much intensity and deviance that there’s no room for anything else in a way; it’s just this image of chaos.”

However, the chaos in his paintings is meticulously created using principles of design. His training in graphic design brings a balance of form, colour and intensity to his works.

Although inspired by his home city, Peterson doesn’t situate his works in a particular place. “I'd agree that LA informs my work, but more so it’s the city and the things that happen in dense environments where people are jammed together and having to deal with each other,” he told myartspace.com. “Every city I've lived in has had these pockets of mayhem, where people are acting out desperation in primal ways.”

Meanwhile, Sydney-born Mark Whalen depicts a society breaking down under the burden of pseudo religion, terrorism, gambling and a fixation with money. God-like creatures and monolithic structures tower over the minions—but the powerful figures are made of a pack of cards that could come crashing down.

Whalen’s intricate paintings are a dramatic shift from the large scale throw ups and graffiti art of his early days in Sydney, operating under the pseudonym Kill Pixie.

“The one thing that got me into detailed work in the first place was making everything with big lines and strokes; I got quite bored with it,” he told The Blackmail. “If I had the time, I’d spend six months on one piece. Details are really fascinating to me. I’m so obsessed with making intricate work and what I can do with it. It probably will implode at some point.”

With sell out shows in Los Angeles, and winning the Sydney Music, Arts & Culture (SMAC) Best Visual Artist Award 2008, Whalen has certainly exploded onto the arts scene.

The Mirror Stage, an exhibition by Kill Pixie/Mark Whalen & Cleon Peterson, continues at the Monster Children Gallery until September 17, 2009.