YCE: Alex Turvey

Obsessed with anatomy, human-animal hybrids, masks, melancholia and the macabre, artist Alex Turvey creates unsettling glitter-filled dreamscapes full of fuzzy-felt characters, bones and human organs, combining live-action with animation to produce his stunning videos. Channel 4 picked up on his enchanting aesthetic before he even graduated and he has won wide recognition for his TV commercial work and music videos since.

Name a person or organisation that shares your DIY ethos, and explain why
Encyclopedia Pictura. Although they work on a much larger scale, they have a very similar method of bringing a vision to life through the eyes of a small but tightly connected team.

Send us a picture/video that summarises your view of modern life, and explain why
My life is full absurdities, absurdity makes me happy.


Do you think the recession has helped or hindered your creativity? Why?
Budgets are certainly being cut, and we’re all affected. On the bright side, however, it does leave more time for self-initiated fun, and having always grappled with tiny budgets. To be honest, I’m so used to working on a shoestring, it hasn’t made much difference.

Music for a revolution - what song sums up your attitude.
Dont Worry Baby - The Beach Boys

What other period inspires you the most, and why?
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the French New Wave season at the BFI  - so I’ll say the 60's. Louis Malle’s Zazie Dans le Metro blew my mind!

Read more of the YCE feature here.