Collection: Empirical Malum Originals

Empirical Malum

A soldier most of his life now; Empirical Malum joined the Army in the midst of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. 19 years in and he has had his share of memorable and painful experiences, both in his personal and professional life. Art and creativity have always been his passion, providing escapism and solitude. Unable to explore this aspect of his character professionally, his goal now is to share his talents and passion, carving a new life through it.

Believing that art is the vehicle that goes some way to expressing powerful, nuanced feelings or a notion that cannot simply be understood through words alone, Empirical Malum’s ideas are fed largely by music and human psychology. Taking great inspiration from maniacal characters displaying a calm, controlled confidence along with the subtle balance of human emotion, his goal is to create things that excite and enthuse.

His style has changed significantly over the years. From initially drawing pieces as gifts and gestures, to passionately creating realistic and detailed images in commissioned portraits, his craft was born naturally out of request. It became clear however over time, that while exercising his talent for creating realistic drawings, there was little, to no room for creativity and expression. Too mechanical and robotic, simply reproducing images like a printer… he needed more.

Battling against the restrictive process involved in reproducing realistic portraits, Empirical Malum began to create loose, sketchy, almost messy, and instinctive drawings with charcoal. Finding a flare within this practice, loving the uncertainty, speed and texture, a new style was forming. While blending the skill of realism with this new approach and other external influences, he began to find his personal and unique style.

Since the age of 14, Empirical Malum has had a love for heavy metal music and listening to this is a part of his everyday life. It is the music that feeds his passion and allows images to conjure in relation to what is heard. Getting these images on paper in a way that others can resonate with has been his personal challenge, and the manner in how that is done is ever evolving.

Most recently, he has taken to sharing his creative experiences with his young son. Jack creates many of his bases; on top of which, he does some fascinating work. A beautiful collaborative, bonding experience, and one that sees Jack flourish also. Jack is in many ways, an extension of his father, communicating through his own creativity; Almost one mind, across the generation, demonstrating a shared innate view on life. Together, in a powerful and nuanced way, they both love creating pieces in this way and will continue to create work like this while Jack continues to enjoy it also. 

Encouraged consistently by a close friend, Empirical Malum is now also a sought-after tattoo artist, with people travelling the length of the country to have his designs adorned on them.