Empire is an emerging Tasmanian painter, who makes experimental use of both gallery and illegitimate spaces, to critique our image saturated society.  In this his second solo show; sex and violence, Empire panders to our most base visual desires.  Regurgitating the banquet of junk imagery we are force fed every day onto the gallery wall, he provides a cynical context through which these images can be reassessed. Empire hijacks the strategies of visual manipulation common to the megalomaniac structures of society for his own counter agenda.
This flood of imagery has led to juxtapositions far more bizarre than the surrealists could ever have imagined; images of war, cartoons and Sparkling White Teeth! sitting perfectly at ease with one another.  What would have once been considered huge contradictions simply meld into one sublime, seething mass of pornography, propaganda and pay-per-view.  Using discarded and stolen objects as his canvas, Thomas collapses the distinctions between what is deemed printmaking and painting, using traditionally commercial mediums to create one-off pieces.

Empire is an emerging Tasmanian artist whose work focuses on experimental use of stencils and screen-printing, within both gallery and illegitimate spaces.  Along with artists Jamin and Paicey, Empire is a member of the Die Laughing Collective, who have been collaborating on large political murals since September 2004. Empire recently exhibited in the group show, Corrupting Youth at CAST Gallery, and is currently Studying a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours at the Tasmanian School of Art in Hobart.