Ellis Meade was born in 1984 in Dover, and studied Architectural History at the Bartlett, University College London. Fascinated with buildings built to an inhuman scale, or Mole in Italian, Meade constructs his 1:500 scale architectural sections to depict vast imaginary buildings. They offer worlds that are both utopic and dysfunctional.

His drawings were initially inspired by an illustration by T.H Clarke, composed in 1833 that shows the heights of the tallest buildings in the world at that time. This idea translated into a drawing comparing the heights of individual towers that Meade had ascended. He amalgamated these into one mega structure. After viewing a retrospective of the work of Pablo Bronstein and a section through the proposed Palace of the Soviets, Meade decided to fill the composition with an explosion of imaginary interiors and mazes.

Meade’s first work in this style, ‘Experienced’, 2012.

His unique drawings soon evolved into portraiture, Hotel Perpetua is his second portrait depicting the section through a giant structure representing the face of his wife. Tonal graduations in the face are represented by rooms, some of which are dark and others lighter. The portrait is pixellated (roughly 80 by 50 pixels) so each one measures 7mm by 7mm translating into a room 3.5 metres high and long. In turn, his interest in maps dovetailed with his work and the outcome was The Drawn Out Journey which is an ongoing series of imaginary sections through buildings whose outline represents a country outline.

Each piece represents a labyrinth, and takes the observer on a tour through references to popular culture, as well as the buildings themselves. The maps inject an educational element into Meade’s work and junctions in the maze are marked by questions. The wrong answer leads to a dead end. Superlatives also remain a constant throughout his work, with the tallest/ largest element in the world reproduced and made to look humble in comparison to the monstrous structures.

Ellis Meade can be contacted at info@ellismeade.com