Artist Bio
Larry Walker-Tonks was born in Hartlepool, England. He developed an interest in art at a young age and graduated from Teesside University in 2013 with a Degree in Fine Art. Shortly after, Larry moved to Manchester in order to further his artistic career and continued to show work across the UK and internationally. In 2015 Larry began an MA in Contemporary Fine Art at the University of Salford which he completed in 2017.
In 2017 Larry worked as a Design Assistant for immersive performance/installation 'Party Skills for the End of the World, part of Manchester International Festival 2017.
Larry has recently completed an artist residency at the Embassy of Foreign Artists, Geneva, Switzerland.
Statement
Larry's current practice explores issues surrounding dating apps like Grindr and Tinder and how, through a highly sexualised western culture, the sleaze is seeping through to our everyday lives and crossing boundaries it should not. Larry looks at how we present ourselves online, be it fabricating our day to day existence to impress our "friends" or hiding behind a blank profile looking for love. He raises awareness of the pressures put upon people to have unsafe sex and the idea of the unsolicited “dick pic” inviting the viewer to question why it is an accepted part of today's culture. This manifests itself under the umbrella of ‘GRUNDER’, a series of tongue-in-cheek installations, grotesque sculptures and satirising large scale prints. Larry Walker-Tonks aims to highlight the immense pressure put upon social media users to drop their morals, standards and their pants with little regard for their own sexual health.
Solo Exhibitions
GRUNDER : Version 1.4, Townhouse, Tranmere, 2017
GRUNDER : Version 1.2, LGBT Foundation, Manchester, 2017
GRUNDER : Version 1.0, AATMA, Manchester, 2017
Group Exhibitions
Dirty Secrets, Fronteer Gallery, Sheffield, 2022
Lockdown & Unity, Fronteer Gallery, Sheffield, 2021
'lump it', Online Exhibition During Covid-19 Lockdown, 2021
2020 Coantivirus International, Online Exhibition & Book During Covid-19 Lockdown, 2020
Queer in Exile, Online Exhibition & Book During Covid-19 Lockdown, 2020
Psychasthenia, Online Exhibition & Book During Covid-19 Lockdown, 2020
Apocqueerlypse, Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes, Shoreditch, London, 2019
Beyond Graduation, Saabat Gallery, South Bank, Middlesbrough, 2019
GM Arts Prize Exhibition, Bolton Museum and Art Gallery, Bolton, 2019
S.E.L.F, Gibberish Brewpub, Liverpool, 2019
Beyond Graduation, Crown Street Gallery, Darlington, 2019
Beyond Graduation, The Heritage Gallery, Cargo Fleet, Middlesbrough, 2019
On The Back Of An Old Envelope, Palace Arts, Redcar, 2019
Sahelanthropus v.01, Rede House, Middlesbrough, 2018
A Place for Friends, hARTslane, London, 2018
Small Steps Events: LGBTQ+ Celebration, Make, North Docks, Liverpool, 2018
Dovetail Joints + Imagination Engine @ Disgraceland, Disgraceland, Middlesbrough, 2018
Brighton Pride: Colour My World, Socially Engaged Art Salon, BMECP Centre, Brighton, 2018
Just Experimenting: Playing the Sexual Edge of Film, Centre for Sex and Culture, San Francisco, California, 2018
Fe/Male, AIR Gallery, Altrincham, 2018
Diptych,Triptych, Polyptych, PS Mirabel, Manchester, 2018
Anti Blues Post Residence, Geneva, Switzerland, 2017
Fountain, fountain (Included in 100 Years of OUI Pt.2), Bury Art Museum, 2017
"Bish, Bash, Bosh", WE THE NORTH, Liverpool, 2017
Lancashire Open Exhibition, Chapel Gallery, Ormskirk, 2017
Small World, PS Mirabel, Manchester, 2017
Engage in Colour, Mirfield Arts Hub, Mirfield, 2017
100 Years of OUI, Kimberly Clark Gallery, Undisclosed Public Bathroom, 2017
Middlesbrough Art Weekender, Middlesbrough, 2017
Hand In, 36 Lime Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 2017
THE END IS BY YUR, Elysium Gallery, Swansea, 2017
Constellations, Artwork Atelier, Salford, Manchester, 2017
West Lancashire OPEN Exhibition 2016, Chapel Gallery, Ormskirk, 2016
Create Salford Degree Show, University of Salford, Manchester, 2016
Territorial Anxiety, Grosvenor Gallery, Manchester, 2016
Kaleidoscope, Virginia Gallery, Glasgow, 2014
Artfordable, 13 The Gallery, Islington, London, 2014
Principles of Dancefloor Construction, University of Teesside, Middlesbrough, 2013
Show Us Your Art, Middlesbrough 2012
Fragments, Python Gallery, Middlesbrough 2012
Chiaroscuro, University of Teesside, Middlesbrough 2012
Residencies
Artist in Residence, Digital Artist Residency, 2018
Embassy of Foreign Artists, Geneva, Switzerland, 2017
Publications
Picasso Baby Digital Issue 003, 2021
"GRUNDER: Are You Attracted To Me?", Journal of Writing in Creative Practice, Volume 13, Number 1, January 2020
Epoque Press 'Departures' eZine, 2019
Average Art Magazine, May 2018 Issue, 2018
Grey Area Zine, DOMINANCE, 2018
Wotisart? Magazine, March 2018 Issue, 2018
Average Art Magazine, December 2017 Issue, 2017
Armageddon Stereo - Rise Again EP, Album Cover (Reverse Side Image), 2017
Eclectically Grimm, Curated by Emma Lea, Illustrations for 'The Fisherman and His Wife', 2016
Murrin Road, L.B. Kitty, Book Cover, 2016
"Funny you should say that!", Jane Bedford, Book Cover and Illustrations, 2014
The Big I Am, Issue 1, Magazine Illustration, 2013