Daniel O'Toole is an Australian artist, based in Melbourne. He is inspired by the 'Light and space' movement of the 1960s (Los Angeles), and his work is positioned in the post-digital context of contemporary Australia.
"I am drawn to immersive works that explore the relationship between sight and sound, video works that examine synaesthesia and natural phenomena, large scale paintings that feel all consuming yet subtle. Films, books, music, poetry, nature, art, dance, light, colour, smells, tastes, life."
He describes his creative process as working with a range of media, to understand what personal truth is written in code regardless of the materials being employed.
"The relationship between painting and video has become and area of interest and I enjoy using film as a method for image creation. Video works are the source material for paintings which are often framed behind a frosted screen."
In his abstract digital photo-art, self-taught visual artist Joris Graaf (The Hague, 1980) seeks to create tension by forming a synthesis of opposites: noise and melody, growth and decay. His work is inspired by contemporary abstract painting. He is fascinated by the emotive power of shape and color.
"I typically make multiple-exposed photographs of scenes that I either find or create myself with all kinds of materials, including paint. I then process these images in a software package called Lightroom."
Joris uses his camera as an instrument to capture textures and structures, either from the world around him or from assemblages of paint and other materials that he makes specifically for this purpose. These are the raw ingredients that he uses to compose his work in the digital realm.
"Purely driven by emotion, my work is not intended to convey any messages or stories. With my images, I intend to create an atmosphere and to convey the feelings and emotions to the viewer that I felt at the time of making them."
Recurring stylistic elements are the use of an altered, minimal colour palette and an interplay of order and chaos, of spontaneity and restraint.