Admittedly, this is the first time we have heard of Skount – for which I am actually slightly dismayed – because his work both in the gallery, as well as out on the streets, is fucking rad.

That bastion of brand spanking cool in Sydney, The Tate, will be playing host to this Spanish artist tomorrow night for his first Australian show – “Fragments Of Mythological Dreams”, and it looks like an amazing show.

“Dreams are not just messages (coded messages, at that), but are also an aesthetic activity, a game of the imagination that has its own value. Dreams are proof that fantasies – emotional immersion in the visualization of events that have never and may never occur – are one of the profoundest necessities for human life. The characters that come from my imagination are my own possibilities, those that never came to bear, or those still on my horizon.” – Skount

Inspired by the classical Spanish theatre of his hometown, Skount’s oneiric masked characters beckon the viewer from the urban environment into their mysterious and playful dreamscapes. The great playwrights of Skount’s youth formed a lasting impression, where he regards life as a wonderful play, in which everyone has a role. Driven by the fundamental desire to free his own mind, Skount’s creativity knows no bounds. With a background in graffiti, his artistic expression spans paint, paper, music and performance, to video art, sculpture, and installation. Skount’s irrepressible curiosity for other cultures has inspired him to travel and study different forms of creativity and traditions around the world. Currently based in Amsterdam, Skount has worked and exhibited throughout Spain, Europe, China, Mexico, Israel and the United States.

Now for the first time in Australia, The Hours presents ‘Fragments of Mythological Dreams’, an exhibition of new paintings and installation by Skount. In this exhibition, inspired by Ancient Greek myths and legends, Skount presents a reality, drawing a relatively cohesive oneiric spectrum with mythology. Recounting a pictorial discourse by which we enter into a world of dreams, created to explain the universe, the origin of the world, natural phenomena and anything for which there is no simple explanation. Through this new body of work on canvas and paper, Skount investigates this complex philosophical world full of arguments about the nature, properties, causes and effects of natural things, especially the human being and the universe.”

Skounts work edges across bizarre dreamscapes, theatrical nuances and unrelenting facets of carnivalesque brilliance – if you want to see something unique and beautifuically produced, head down to the Tate in Sydney tomorrow night for his show.

Who: Skount
What: Fragments Of Mythological Dreams
Where: The Tate, 345 Glebe Pt Rd, Glebe, Sydney
When: Show opens Wednesday 15th May from 6pm til 9pm

Check out Skount as well as The Tate for more info.