Joe Machine

Interview with the artist, with images of works

"My grandfather was a Romany boxer, but sometimes fought bare-knuckle, which his own father did for a living. I loved my grandfather, although I was aware that other people were frightened of him. He always treated me with a great deal of love. It’s left me between two worlds – love and violence. It was definitely an emotive painting: I felt he was looking at me. In some ways he wouldn’t have been very happy about it, because he was a very private man. What I study more than anything else is the human shadow. The need to paint something until you’ve shown as much of it as you can."

My Grandfather Will Fight You

cockney riviera

Joe Machine was one of the founder members of the first Stuckist group in 1999. He has been featured in all the major Stuckist shows. He comes from a Romany background on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent…