Joey Parlett draws using ordinary materials, such as gel pens and ink. These materials lend his work a sense of immediacy and preserve his creative process from start to finish, including any experimentation and errors.
His completed works are sprawling battle fields of conflicting information. References to American classics, folklore, online image searches, pop culture and politics sit side by side democratically and all compete for the viewer’s attention.
‘In many ways, this mirrors the experience of American culture,’ remarks Parlett, who is known to counterbalance a heavy social commentary with a lighthearted reference, or a recurring character such as Beardman.