Schoony

"My work pursues themes of commercialism, violence, and contemporary Western society’s detached relationship to warfare."

Schoony is one of those artists who had a meteoric rise to fame in the world of contemporary art. What actually started in the field of moviemaking ended up with conquering the art world. Tristan “Schoony” Schoonraad was working in the film industry for over twenty years before his brilliant artworks caught the eye of art collectors and galleries worldwide. In his own words: "The progression of my execution was originally influenced from my work in special effects, predominantly lifecasting, sculpting, and model making. I have always had a keen eye for technology however and when Artec 3D scanners became available I got my hands on one."

Schoony's amazing sculptures are inspired by conflicts we see all over the world. Particularly wars, to be more precise. By tackling warfare through works encompassing themes such as hope, survival, and society, Schoony makes magnificent larger-than-life sculptures. After all, art is what keeps us going through the toughest of times. In 2008, the London art scene literally fell in love with Schoony's life-cast sculptures 'Boy Soldiers'. Ever since then, his extraordinary art took a major step to the top of the contemporary art iceberg. Over the years, Schoony has certainly made his mark within the art world and beyond – his celebrated Boy Soldier sculpture having garnered international recognition and a number of Hollywood fans. The ‘Boy Soldier’ can be found in the collections of Brad Pitt, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Blur frontman Damon Albarn to the biggest art galleries in the world.

And today, this hyper-realistic depiction of a child holding a hand grenade, sporting a war helmet, and looking disconsolate is the major anti-war symbol. His simplified abstracted representations of young boys with grenades in their hands had a massive impact on the art world. Schoony is one of few artists that use the discipline of lifecasting as an art form. And he does it remarkably well.