Amok Island
Amok Island (born Amsterdam, 1983) is a multi-disciplinary artist from the Netherlands, based in Fremantle, Western Australia and if he wasn't an artist he would be a biologist. Heavily inspired by early naturalists’ scientific illustrations, his work embodies the accuracy and precision representative of technical drawings, used for identification purposes.
The theme of natural exploration and conservation is a strong and constant undercurrent of Amok Island’s artistic practice. His lifelong fascination with nature and her relationships and history with mankind drive the artist’s obvious appreciation and obsession with his subjects and his urge to direct the attention of his audience to them.
Amok Island pursues a point of balance where minimal shape and colour remain capable of realistically representing a subject. To accomplish this, he renders his subjects to near bare minimum geometric elements of form, and places paramount importance on the use of a carefully considered colour palette.
Read our interview with Amok Island to learn more about his process.
Take a look at Amok Island's solo shows: Endemism (2015) and New Paintings (2021).