Tyrone Deans studied Architecture in London at Kingston, London Metropolitan and RIBA NW universities.

Experience and identity primarily shape Deans’ practice, which funds his exceptional, unique narratives on these multifaceted topics. Expressed by his imaginative blending of sand, salt and earth native to the immediate landscape, the materiality of the works produce a heavily rugged terrain on his canvases.

Stylized by cracks, bold brush strokes, a combination of paints and accentuated with motif’s cast in charcoal, Deans harmonises the intensities of these materials governed by his ambition to achieve aesthetically gratifying scenes that remain ambiguous and open to interpretation.

Deans’ process combines the use of natural materials mixed with thick textured paints, sand, salts, oils and butters, overworked with charcoal, chalk, oil-bar and other mediums, often on or incorporating ‘Ghanaian’ batik fabrics or canvas. 

The process is deliberately “other” –  attempting to dismantle the way in which identities or expectations are constructed, recognised and constrained. References to source materials are surreptitiously embedded into his works, often deliberately eluding the viewer.

“I am interested in the trauma of feeling displaced or alienated from one’s surroundings. Many of the works depict mysterious landscapes which toe the line between figuration and abstraction, symptomatic of the world in which we live, where the boundaries are blurred.”

His work creates alluring compositions influenced by his Jamaican and British heritage, combining layers of mixed media with bursts of colour to develop unique and expressive material that explores issues of race, culture and class.