Belfast based artist David Turner was born in 1968. Growing up, his childhood was shaped by the turbulent times of The Troubles, with guns, conflict and checkpoints a part of his everyday life. His work reflects this childhood experience, using materials associated with childhood with a disturbing effect.
Turner’s mediums include Hama beads, wax crayons, plasticine, and of course in the case of his works in this exhibition, LEGO®. His disturbingly accurate collection of guns is inspired not just by memories of his own childhood, but by thoughts of the devastating effects on those (especially children) who like him, are victims of historical or present conflicts and terrorist attacks around the world. David Turner’s disquieting art is intended as a critical commentary on the atrocities and glorification of war and violence.
David Turner has exhibited in solo shows in Northern Ireland and Ireland. However, group shows have taken his work further afield – to the rest of the United Kingdom, to Germany, Taiwan, China and across the United States.
