b. 2004
Lives and works in London, UK
Joe Sookias (also known as ‘Sookie) is a multidisciplinary artist, studying at Chelsea College of Arts.
Growing up in rural Derbyshire, he lived an “imagined nostalgia” of London and New York streetwear culture through YouTube. Now residing in London, Joe presents anecdotes of hopeless romance, masculine stereotypes and internet addictions to reflect the importance of men’s mental heath.
Inspired by the “zombie formalism” movement of the 2010s, Joe revives the dead media found online and traps you between physical paint and scale.
Originally painting to deal with anxiety, he now uses action painting as a meditative process to express the feelings he couldn’t put into words to confront the romanticisation of mental trauma found in media we consume.