The other talented Mr Ripley is a mysterious figure who travels in many worlds. Having had no formal training in the arts, he has developed his own working methods. His music and paintings are layered evocations of sound and vision, shot through with occult tendencies and esoteric craftsmanship.

Spirit magazine wrote of his work: ‘Ripley’s style fluctuates from celtic to gothic, via both classicism and romanticism, from runes to prayers and from myths to science. Centuries of British art, beginning with William Blake and ending with Graham Sutherland and Francis Bacon, are brought up to date and fused into an explosive central composition that symbolises a universality of thought and feeling.’ Not for him the easy path; rather, seven years of patient effort. His work is just beginning to attract wider attention and this is his first net-exhibition.

As well as making pictures, Ripley is a member of the Honey Bee collective, Brighton’s premiere Out-Rock electronica collective, combining hypnotic improvisation, mesmerizing drones, surf punk and pin-sharp lyrics underwritten by Ripley’s drumming and rhythm programming.

Southlife predicts bright shiny things in this man’s cosmic future.

John May

All images © Marcus Ripley