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

Deans’ practice is rooted in the exploration of identity, displacement, and memory. Through the imaginative blending of natural materials; sand, salt, and earth—native to immediate surroundings, Deans constructs heavily textured terrains that blur the boundaries between abstraction and figuration. Thickly layered canvases, overworked with charcoal, chalk, oil-bar, and unconventional materials, mirror the physical and psychological landscapes Deans navigates as an artist. This tactile, experimental process echoes the alien terrain of identity and belonging.

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.

Reflection serves as an undercurrent to Deans’ work, illuminating the complex interplay between personal experience, collective memory, and the ever-evolving landscape of cultural identity. As an artist who navigates the boundaries between disciplines, Deans rejects the rigidity of traditional academic frameworks, opting instead for a practice that foregrounds material experimentation and the deconstruction of established norms. This ethos manifests through deliberate acts of disruption—layering incongruent textures, embedding unconventional materials, and overworking canvases to the point of transformation. The irregularities that surface mirror the ruptures inherent in the process of identity formation, evoking a sense of dissonance and alienation. My work becomes a space in which contradictions coexist, reflecting the fragmented realities of belonging and displacement that Baldwin so poignantly articulates. By embracing this process, Deans challenges both the viewer and himself to engage with the unresolvable tensions that define the human experience.

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.