Exhibtion Speil!

True love only exists if you believe in it.

A Shrine to Humanity

John Albert Young’s work examines the ideal of Love, in both sharing his own experience and sharing the love between humanity.

Young has used non-specific religious artefacts to create a shrine to true values that questions our notions of belief. True values in modern society have become clouded perhaps owing to the general lack of belief in religion. The work is a celebration of true values; love, friendship, happiness, comedy and ambition.  Young questions the role of the Artist within society and believes that the Artist has a responsibility to remind people of the more important non materialistic things in life. Young has reached out to a wide number of followers on the internet and has encouraged people to take part in the show. The participants have created their own art works as an offering to the shrine; the gifts are a testament to the beautiful nature of humankind.

The Shrine to Self Destruction

“There is no such thing as a selfless act” - Confucius

With a particular interest in philosophy pertaining to the notion of free will and fate, Young creates an alternate path and outcome, should Love had not found him. Young allows his audience to enter the dark side of his thoughts. Meant as a polar opposite to the Shrine to Humanity, Young creates an entirely selfish character, a projection of the demon that is perhaps inside all of us. Young’s work questions the notion of free will and existentialism but also how our emotions are so inextricably linked to our philosophical preferences.

“Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence.”  - Eric Fromm