John Derrick is based in Melbourne, Australia. His work explores the intersection of the human form and the visceral experience of being alive. He approaches the figure not as a static object to be recorded, but as a fluid, biomorphic entity—one that breathes, vibrates, and shifts through the medium of paint. He is driven by the central question: How can the figure be reimagined for a contemporary context?

His practice begins in the physical world, rooted in charcoal life drawings where gesture and movement are I prioritized over anatomical precision. These initial marks serve as the skeletal framework for an improvisational painting process. Much like the expansive, experimental compositions of Radiohead and the distorted textures of Sonic Youth, his brushwork is suggestive of a polyphonic rhythm without a predetermined outcome. He allows the painting to dictate its own resolution through a push-and-pull of high-key colour and expressive mark-making. He uses colour and gesture as a tool for emotional resonance rather than just description.

He is influenced by the rhythmic repetition of Wild Style graffiti, where a single motif is reinvented infinitely. This echoes his approach to the figure: a constant reimagining of the body’s boundaries and repeating certain shapes or gestures—acts as a signature of the subconscious. His aesthetic language is rooted in the Abstract Expressionist tradition, utilizing the gestural mark-making , and atmospheric depth to create a space where the body feels felt rather than just seen.

Ultimately, he is interested in what it feels like to inhabit a body. By deconstructing the figure through an abstract-figurative lens, he seeks to capture a "feeling" rather than a likeness. His work is an inquiry into the nature of beauty—finding it within the chaos, the movement, and the sublime complexity of existence.