Through his drawings, sculpture, paintings, installations and text, Charles Avery is telling the story about his fictional island and its inhabitants, their religion, culture, nature and architecture. His narrative is inspired by his childhood spent on the Isle of Mull off the West coast of Scotland which helped him to create a framework for his project The Islanders. His Island is located in the middle of the great archipelago. With the capital Onomatopoeia, this place is interesting cultural and tourist destination, thanks to the first settlers who built the metropolis. Avery actively works on his project since 2004. The first presentation of The Islanders: An Introduction was exhibited at Parasol Unit Foundation for Contemporary Art in London, 2008.
Onomatopoeia is interesting tourist destination

Welcome to Onomatopoeia
His recent focus is on the citizens of Onomatopoeia, creatures very similar to the humans. Drawing them in everyday situations in the cloth that doesn’t belong to any period of time or any culture, Avery represents the ahistorical and apolitical world, questioning the issues of globalization and utopia. In this mythic landscape live the different creatures who come out from their world into the real one in the form of sculptures. Mythical beasts haunt the inhabitants’ psyche, occupying their sense of reason. The salesman in the local market sells the pictures of the nude females for the price of peace of mind and the local specialty is the pickled eggs. All those dreamy characters come directly from Avery’s imagination in the moment of drawing.
The inhabitants are similar to humans

World Without the Squares
One more characteristic for the Islander’s is that they don’t like the number four and the right angles, so they sit on the three or five side tables because of more comfortable relations. He enjoys in the creation of the furniture for his imaginative world. Trying to constantly upgrade his ideas, there’s always something new happening, the city is developing and expanding. Avery hopes that The Islanders will be his life’s work with the culmination in the form of the encyclopedic book. With the ever present affection to the drawing, he found his models in Schiele, Daumier, Redon and Frank Lloyd Right and New Yorker cartoons. Predominantly self-taught as an artist, he went to Central St Martins school but dropped out after six months.
The sculptures are the souvenirs

Drawings vs Sculpture
Avery’s drawing skills and powerful imagination are clearly visible on his five meters wide drawing Untitled (View of the Port of Onomatopoeia). With the details focused on the center of the paper, he represents the group of strange inhabitants and the visitors who have arrived by boat. Very important for the understanding of his work is the relation between the drawings and the sculpture. The first ones are only the narratives, but sculptural things are the items that are sold to the tourists and therefore removed from their original context and put in reality, creating the connection between two worlds.
The Islanders have their own religion and culture

One Project for a Lifetime
Creating a unique mixture of the art mediums, permeating drawings, sculpture, painting and textual messages, Avery asserts his imagination in the attempt to make one different world. His characters have their own philosophy of living, their own culture, habits and rules. On the exhibitions, a broad selection of works is shown together offering the viewer to clearly comprehend topology and cosmology of the island. The Islanders project was a perfect way for the artist to direct his artistic ideas. Letting the narratives emerge, improvisation remained the main guide of his imaginative spirit.
Charles Avery lives and works in London.
All images © artist
Year | Exhibition Title | Gallery/Museum | Solo/Group |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | What’s the matter with Idealism? | GEM, Museum for Contemporary Art, The Hague | Solo |
2015 | The impossible city | Edinburgh Art Festival | Solo |
2015 | FIG-2 (2-50) | ICA, Institute for Contemporary Art, London | Group |
2014 | What's so great about happiness? - The people and things of Onomatopoeia | GRIMM Gallery, Amsterdam | Solo |
2014 | Taipei Biennial: The Great Acceleration | Taipei Fine Arts Museum, curated by Nicolas Bourriaud, Taipei City | Group |
2014 | Huidige Zaken | Grimm Gallery, Amsterdam | Group |
2014 | Year after Year: works on paper from the UBS Art Collection | Galleria D'Arte Moderna di Milano | Group |
2014 | What’s so great about Happiness ? – The people and things from Onomatopoeia – Part 2 | Galleria S.A.L.E.S, Rome | Solo |
2014 | Generation: 25 Years of Contemporary Art in Scotland | Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh | Group |
2013 | Untitled | Galleria S.A.L.E.S, Rome | Solo |
2013 | It means it means Curated by Tom Morton | Pilar Corrias, London | Solo |
2013 | The World is almost six thousand years old | Collection and Usher Gallery, Lincoln | Group |
2013 | Beastly Hall: A place where artists and creatures collide | Hall Place, Bexley | Group |
2013 | A Parliament of lines | Pier Arts Centre, Orkney | Group |
2013 | Mijn Derde Land | Frankendael Foundation, Amsterdam | Group |
2013 | Vitrines: Charles Avery | L'Antenne, Le Plateau, FRAC, Paris | Solo |
2013 | Imaginning Islands: Artists and Escape | The Courtauld Gallery, London | Group |
2012 | Galicica: Topographies of Myth | SOKOL, Nowy Sacz | Group |
2012 | A Parliament of lines | The Pier Arts Centre, Orkney | Group |
2012 | Machines for living | Yaffo 23, Jerusalem | Group |
2012 | Hedendaagse surreele tekeningen uit Rotterdam, Collectie | Institut Neerlandais, Paris | Group |
2012 | The comic side of Art | Nest, Den Haag | Group |
2012 | A Parliament of lines | City Art Centre, Edinburgh | Group |
2012 | A Parliament of lines | ECAC, Scotland | Group |
2012 | Le miroir et l'encyclopedie | Galerie Michel Journiac, Paris | Group |
2012 | Haunts and Follies | Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts, St. Kilda | Group |
2012 | New works from the Islanders project ( Concerning the Qoro-qoros, the Jadindagadendar and the Eternal dialectic) | GRIMM Gallery, Amsterdam | Solo |
2012 | A Parliament of lines | The RMIT University Gallery, Melbourne | Group |
2011 | Place de la Revolution | Pilar Corrias, London | Solo |
2011 | A million miles from home | The Folkestone Triennial, Folkestone | Group |
2011 | New drawings of Onomatopoeia | Galleria S.A.L.E.S, Rome | Solo |
2011 | A Million Miles from home | The Folkestone Triennial, Folkestone | Solo |
2011 | As the World turns: New Art from London | Anna Schwartz Gallery, Sydney | Group |
2010 | Onomatopoeia Part 1, | Kunstverein, Hanover | Solo |
2010 | Charles Avery Onomatopoeia, Part 2: The Port | Pilar Corrias, London | Solo |
2010 | Recent British Sculpture | GRIMM Gallery, Amsterdam, curated by Tom Morton | Group |
2010 | Acquisition presentation Contemporary Drawings | Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam | Group |
2010 | Languages and Experimentations | Casa d’Arte Futurista Depero, Trento | Group |
2010 | Onomatopoeia Part 1, | FRAC’, Ile-de-France Le Plateau, Paris | Solo |
2010 | Onomatopoeia Part 1, EX3 | Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea, Florence | Solo |
2009 | Walking in my mind | Hayward Gallery, London | Group |
2009 | A Duck for Mr. Darwin | BALTIC, Gateshead | Group |
2009 | Altermodern: Fourth Tate Triennial | Curated by Nicolas Bourriaud at Tate Britain, London | Group |
2009 | Drawing 2009 Biennal Fundraiser | The Drawing Room, London | Group |
2009 | Onomatopoeia, Part 1: Creeds | Galleria Sonia Rosso, Turin | Solo |
2009 | Life Forms | Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm | Group |
2008 | Made Up | International Festival of Contemporary Art, 5th Liverpool Biennial, Tate Liverpool, Liverpool | Group |
2008 | irony & Gesture | Kukje Gallery, Seoul | Group |
2008 | Artfutures 2008 | Bloomberg Space, London | Group |
2008 | The Islanders: An Introduction | Parasol Unit, London; touring to The National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam | Solo |
2008 | Scotland AND venice 2003, 2005, 2007 | Charles Avery, Simon Starling and Cathy Wilkes’, The Pier Orkney | Group |
2007 | The Islanders: An Introduction - Part III | Faye Fleming & Partner (former Arquebuse), Geneva | Solo |
2007 | Scotland and Venice | 52nd Venice Biennale, Italy | Group |
2007 | The Lyon Biennale 2007, France | The Athens Biennale, Greece | Group |
2007 | Every eye sees differently as the eye | The Drawing Room, London | Group |
2007 | Timer | The Drawing Room, London | Group |
2007 | Welcome to my world | Alexandre Pollazzon Ltd., London | Group |
2007 | Ironie der objekte | MUSEION Museum fur moderne und zeitgenossische Kunst, Bolzano | Group |
2007 | Maquette of the Eternity Chamber | Faye Fleming & Partner (former Arquebuse), Geneva | Solo |
2007 | Flip Francois Ghebaly | Chung King Project, Los Angeles | Group |
2006 | The Plane of the Gods | Cubitt Gallery, London | Solo |
2006 | Charles Avery and Keith Wilson | Alexandre Pollazzon, London | Solo |
2006 | Charles Avery and Keith WilsonAlexandre Pollazzon Ltd., London | Group | |
2006 | The Islanders: An introduction - Part II | Galleria Sonia Rosso, Turin | Solo |
2005 | Hunting the Noumenon | Galleria Archimede Staffolini, Nicosia | Solo |
2005 | Sculpture Garden Fortescue Avenue | Jonathan Viner, London | Group |
2005 | Memphis | Flaca, London | Group |
2005 | Theoroma | Musee d’Art Contemporain, Avignon | Group |
2005 | Inaugurazione Nuovo Spazio | Galleria S.A.L.E.S., Rome | Group |
2005 | The Islanders : An Introduction | Doggerfisher, Edinburgh | Solo |
2005 | Avatars | Galleria S.A.L.E.S, Rome | Solo |
2004 | It Thinks | Galleria Sonia Rosso, Turin | Solo |
2004 | Premio del Golfo | La Spezia, Italy | Group |
2004 | Jerwood Drawing Prize | La Spezia, Italy | Group |
2004 | Trailer | Man in the Holocene, London | Group |
2004 | Io mi ricordo | Galleria S.A.L.E.S., Rome | Group |
2004 | Love over Gold | Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow | Group |
2004 | Necessary kids, Charles Avery, Piotr Uklanski, Costa Vece | Gallerie Civico d’Arte Contemporanea di Siracusa, Sicily | Group |
2004 | Dark Shadows | Marc Foxx Gallery, Los Angeles | Group |
2004 | Works on paper | Archimede Staffolini Gallery, Nicosia, Cyprus | Group |
2004 | Prospects Drawing Prize | Truman Brewery, London | Group |
2004 | A measure of distance | Magnani, London | Group |
2004 | Jerwood Drawing Prize | Jerwood Space, London touring to MAC Birmingham; Glasgow School of Art; EICH Gallery, Hull; The Lowry, Manchester | Group |
2004 | Prospects Drawings Prize | Truman Brewery, London | Group |
2004 | Supersonic and Alien | S.A.L.E.S., Rome, Italy | Group |
2004 | Flights of Reality | Turnpike Gallery, Leigh | Group |
2004 | Flights of Reality | Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge (group show with Keith Tyson, Grace Weir, Keith Wilson and Matthew Ritchie) | Group |
2004 | The Hunter | Man in the Holocene, London | Solo |
2003 | The Freedom of the Universe | Galleria S.A.L.E.S., Rome | Solo |
2003 | Il premio per la Giovanne Arte Italiana | Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow | Group |
2003 | The Square Root of 2 | Sleeper, Edinburgh | Solo |
2002 | Triangle Land | Dee-Glasoe Gallery, New York | Solo |
2002 | The Truth about the Truth | Doggerfisher, Edinburgh | Solo |
2002 | Contemporary Art project | Museum of Modern Art, Seattle | Group |
2001 | The Palace of the Gulls | Percy Miller Gallery, London | Solo |
2001 | Ghosty | Mille Eventi, Milan, Italy | Group |
2001 | Works on paper | S.A.L.E.S., Rome, Italy | Group |
2000 | The Riddle of Pooch Avery | Dee Glasoe Gallery, New York | Solo |
2000 | The Ghost of Scirribin | Nylon Gallery, London | Solo |
2000 | Made Space | Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh, touring to Changing Room, Stirling | Group |
2000 | Drawing | Percy Miller Gallery, London | Group |
2000 | Innuendo | Dee-Glasoe Gallery, New York | Group |
2000 | The Last Yolk | Sonia Rosso Gallery, Pordenone, Italy | Solo |
2000 | Made Space | Pekao Gallery, Toronto, Canada | Group |
1999 | Charles Avery | Richard Heller Gallery, Los Angeles | Solo |
1999 | Surveying the lanscape | Lombard Freid Gallery, New York | Group |
1999 | Selection from the Files | Nylon, London | Group |
1999 | The British on paper | Galleria Sonia Rosso, Pordenone, Italy | Group |
1999 | The Life and Times of Nancy Haselswon | Tablet Gallery, London | Solo |
1999 | Draw | Ten in One Gallery, Chicago | Group |
1999 | Fine Line | Duncan Cargill Gallery, London | Group |
1999 | Untiled | Archimede Staffolini Gallery, Nicosia, Cyprus | Group |
1998 | The creation of the Omniverse | Nylon, London | Solo |
1998 | Portraits of people who never existed | Entwistle Gallery, London | Solo |