Leo Robinson

In his work, Robinson narrates the origin stories and founding myths of a fictional micro-civilisation, whose knowledge, beliefs, art, morals and customs echo real-world cultural constructs. This world-building exercise allows the artist to explore and critique fundamental ideas relating to the blocs of thinking that make up civilisation, such as progress, religion and aesthetics. Referencing Plato, and the birth of conceptual thought, Robinson is interested in studying how humans deal with the prospect of transformation through abstract belief formation, and observes the human tendency to cling to ideas with the expectation of transcendental or transformative outcomes.

Leo Robinson graduated from the Manchester School of Fine Arts in 2016. His artistic practice runs parallel to his explorations in spirituality, self discovery and folklore. His work begins from meditations upon his own attachments and ideals, before questioning how they mirror the wider external human world. Robinson's visual symbols range from the deeply personal to the referential, scientific and historical. His current body of work presents the prophecies of a society split into frenzied technophiles and naturalist-purists, exploring ideas related to capitalism, the internet and environmentalism.

Recent exhibitions include DREAM-BRIDGE-OMNIGLYPH, London Mithraeum, Bloomberg SPACE, London (solo - 2024); Polymythologies, Tiwani Contemporary, London (group - 2024); The Trembling Museum, Hunterian Art Gallery, Glasgow (group - 2023); On Exactitude, Indigo + Madder, London (solo - 2023); The Infinity Card, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, Wales (2022);To the Edge of Time, KU Leuven, Belgium (2021); Theories of Cosmic Joy, Tiwani Contemporary, London (2019); Odd One Out/In (curated by Other Grounds Collective), PS Mirabel, Manchester, UK (2017); After School Club, Paradise Works, Manchester, UK (2017); Recollection: Memory and Time, The Portico Gallery, Manchester, UK (2017); Song of the Husband, Manchester International Festival, Manchester, UK (2017) and Reply All, Despina, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2017).

Robinson is also the founder and singer-songwriter behind Cult Party, a Manchester-based band noted for music that combines pastoral folk with experimental lyricism. Their latest LP And Then There Was This Sound, was released by label Icescapades in 2018.