We welcome back English artist Tom Baghsaw as he join us for his 8th RUN Ensnared! Drawing inspiration from Shibari, which translated literally from the Japanese word means to decoratively tie, Bagshaw has explored the ancient Japanese rope bondage theme a few times in the past, and with his latest Ensnared he finds himself returning to cover new ground. Read on as Tom Bagshaw gives us some background on his latest release and we into his previous Shibari inspired works . . .
1x: How did the idea and execution come about for this image?
Bagshaw: I had recently finished a piece for CHG entitled ‘Metamorphosis’ which depicted some suspension and rope harness, this piece was one of the sketches that I toyed with when coming up with a concept for that show. So soon after Metamorphosis was completed I came back to this piece and continued on from the initial sketch.
1xRUN: Was this imagery part of a recent theme, series or show that you had?
Tom Bagshaw: It wasn’t really part of a series, but the themes in this piece are something I come back to quite frequently. Over the last couple of years I’ve done a few pieces depicting Shibari.
1x: When were this image created and how long did it take to finish?
Bagshaw: September 2017. I painted it over the best part of a week, working on a couple of pieces at the same time makes it difficult to tell exactly how long it took.
1x: Why should people buy this one of these prints?
Bagshaw: Because everyone needs a little Shibari!
1x: Describe this image in one gut reaction word.
Bagshaw: Glow.
Purchase Tom Bagshaw’s Ensnared Right Here on 1xRUN
1x: You’ve been staying busy since our last release, bring us up to speed on what you have been up to in 2017 so far?
Bagshaw: 2017 has seen me working on a variety of pieces, show works, doing some experimenting with my own style and workflow, study pieces and trying to develop a concept for a bigger body of work.
1x: What else is on your radar for the end of the year and early 2018?
Bagshaw: I have been building towards setting up a Patreon page for a more long term body of work. I’ve managed to do a few pieces so far, The Summoning, Memento, The Ash Fields, Apeiron, they are all part of my exploration of a 16th Century text about the underworld. Hopefully a Patreon page will help me spend more time to concentrate on those works!
1x: What are some of the ways you have been trying to push yourself with new work this past year?
Bagshaw: With quite a few pieces I have been trying to be a bit more loose in my style, painting digitally its very easy to get bogged down over rendering everything.. trying to get the balance right between detail where its needed and more painterly, suggestive marks where its not.
1x: Any big shows or events coming up that you’d like to share?
Bagshaw: I’m always stoked to be a part of the Supersonic Electronic Annual shows and happy to say I will be part of the 7th, taking place at Spoke Art gallery NYC in January – really looking forward to working on my piece for that – first show of 2018!
1x: Where else can people find you?
Tom Bagshaw: Website – Instagram @tombagshaw – Facebook
-1xRUN