Finding multiple facets of a subject Paul Moncus’s work focuses on dualities, beauty and ugliness, positive and negative, and working alternately loose and tight.
The collective experience is as much an influence as an affliction called Hereditary Angioedema known as H.A.E. This rare disease plagues only one in ten to fifty thousand. Paul was diagnosed with Hereditary Angioedema at a young age and has struggled throughout his life with this ailment. H.AE. is characterized by the edema or swelling of certain body parts of a persons’ body such as the hands, face, feet, abdomen and throat to twice or three times their normal size. Excruciating abdominal pain, nausea and suffocation also occur. Paul is in a unique position to document this condition.
With a strong sense of composition and rich flesh tones Paul creates a bold series of paintings and drawings that explores the visual aspect of swelling, deformity, and the pain that accompanies this terrible affliction. “ I scrutinize my own image and defects and exorcise their power over me by confronting this condition with my eyes and hands, with drawing, painting, and photography. I turn this affliction into inspiration.” Says Paul. His belief is that many of us have problems and ailments that we suffer and a large part of appreciating life is coming to terms with your own difficulties so that you truly value the positive aspects of life.
Often reworking the same image in different types of media. Not interested in creating mere likeness, for Paul the work is a pursuit of a collective experience.

Paul Moncus :

SWELL