Dlux Explained

James Dodd aka Dlux
Birth Name:	James Dodd
Birth Place:	Bordertown, South Australia
Nationality:	Australian
Field:	Painting, Sculpture, Street art
Training:	University of South Australia
Website:	Personal website

James Dodd is a South Australian artist, arts educator and street artist who used the pseudonym Dlux for his street art when he operated out of Melbourne.^[1]

Biography

Born in Bordertown in 1977,^[2] Dodd has a Bachelor of Visual Art and a Masters of Visual Art from the University of South Australia.^[3] Dodd teaches at Adelaide Central School of Art.^[4] As a street artist, he used the pseudonym Dlux^[5] and was one of a group of street artists who considered legal action against the National Gallery of Australia when it failed to pay them in a timely manner for their works.^[6]

Career

He began doing street art in Adelaide in 1998, using stencils to mass-produce stickers.^[7] Dodd moved to Melbourne around 2002 because of the street-art scene.^[8] As Dlux, Dodd was a powerful presence on the Melbourne streets but also undertook a large amount of gallery work, and his stencils were always very politically motivated.^[9] As Dlux, Dodd is also featured in the documentary film Rash (2005), which explores the cultural value of street art in Melbourne.^[10]

He was one of the most active street artists in Melbourne but returned to Adelaide to undertake further studies (Masters in Visual Art, University of South Australia.^[11] Since then, his practice has expanded to include painting and sculpture, celebrating Australia's culture of rebellion and resistance.^[12]

Artistic style and subject

Dodd’s practice incorporates street art,^[13] sculpture, and painting. His street art has been criticised for 'glamourising dangerous youth gangs'.^[14] His sculpture and paintings reflect his rural upbringing^[15] and he uses objects such as bus shelters,^[16] bicycles,^[17] and surfboards^[18] as a basis for his work. He also constructs objects such as River Cycle ('a bicycle in a tinnie'),^[19] and drawing^[20] and painting machines.^[21]

Collections

Dodd’s work is held in the following collections:

• University of Queensland Art Museum (search for James Dodd)
• Australia National Maritime Museum
• National Gallery of Australia (under both James Dodd and Dlux)

Further reading

• Bellamy, Louise. (16 March 2014). Art collectors swap Nolan and Whiteley for street art. The Sydney Morning Herald.
• Bilske, Maria. (2000-2001). Gleam . Eyeline, Vol. 44, Summer : 46.
• Dodd, James. (2014) Future hardware wildstyle. Artlink, Vol. 34, No. 1, Mar: 40-42.
• Hansen, N. (2006). "Rash": Street Art and Social Dialogue. Metro, (151), 80–83.
• Radok, Stephanie. (2007). Parkside nomadic group moves inland 4 winter; Years without magic; Speakeasy. Artlink, Vol. 27, No. 3, Sep: 95.

See also

• List of Australian artists
• List of people from Adelaide
• List of people from Melbourne
• List of street artists
• Spray paint art
• Types of graffiti

References

• May's Sydney. 1 April 2005. (Featured artist).
• Stencil art world draws the line 8 May 2007
• National Gallery of Australia entry on DLUX
• Norman, James, "Graffiti goes upmarket", The Age, Melbourne, Australia, 16 August 2003. It includes some information on DLUX.

External links

• "Make Stencils Not War" - a work by Dlux
• Personal website
• Bike powered percussion contraption [video<nowiki>]]
• Rash, documentary on Australian street artists which features Dodd.

Notes and References

1. Book: Smallman . Jake . Nyman . Carl . Stencil graffiti capital: Melbourne . 2005 . Mark Batty . 9780976224532 . 185291657 . English.
2. Web site: Binks . Vanessa . Problem-solving farmer helps spur artist's vision . Stock Journal . 8 March 2019 . en . 18 May 2018.
3. Book: MacDonald . Logan . James Dodd: Sabotage . 2014 . Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia . Parkside, SA . 9781875751006 . 45 . 886716671 . English.
4. Web site: James Dodd . Adelaide Central School of Art . 8 March 2019 . en . 13 September 2018.
5. News: Schwartzkoff . Louise . Off the wall . Sydney Morning Herald. 9 October 2010.
6. Web site: Crawford . Ashley . Stencil art world draws the line . The Age . 8 March 2019 . en . 9 May 2007.
7. Book: Smallman . Jake . Nyman . Carl . Stencil graffiti capital: Melbourne . 2005 . Mark Batty . 9780976224532 . 185291657 . English.
8. Web site: Interview - DLUX - James Dodd . INVURT . 14 May 2014.
9. Book: Smallman . Jake . Nyman . Carl . Stencil graffiti capital: Melbourne . 2005 . Mark Batty . 9780976224532 . 185291657 . English.
10. Rash (2005) documentary film about Melbourne street art and graffiti. Official website
11. Web site: Dodd . James . Dirty words: a study of urban text-based interventions . University of South Australia . 15 March 2019 . 2009.
12. Book: MacDonald . Logan . James Dodd: Sabotage . 2014 . Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia . Parkside, SA . 9781875751006 . 45 . 886716671 . English.
13. News: In from the cold . Canberra Times. 22 November 2010.
14. News: Devlin . Rebekah . Rowe . Elizabeth . Leslie-Allen . Gretta . 'Gang' art stirs emotions . The Advertiser (Adelaide) . 10 August 2004.
15. News: Hender . Sarah . Art that cells . The Advertiser (Adelaide) . 30 July 2016.
16. Heagney . Din . James Dodd the colonial bus stop . Artlink Magazine . 2013 . 32 . 3 . 23 . 8 March 2019 . en.
17. Web site: Fisher . Laura . The bicycle as dissident object . Artlink Magazine . 8 March 2019 . en . 1 March 2016.
18. News: Lloyd . Tim . Cleaning up the sea . The Advertiser (Adelaide) . 22 November 2004.
19. Web site: River Cycle . Vitalstatistix . 8 March 2019 . en-AU . 2018.
20. News: Bond . Caleb . Machines meet art in inaugural grants . CoastCity Weekly . 18 July 2018.
21. Web site: Pierce . Julianne . Meet Your Maker: James Dodd . wellmade.com.au . 8 March 2019 . en . 5 March 2018.