Eve at the Fountain by Gordon Cheung. Photo Laing Art Gallery

A contemporary artist who uses old pages of the Financial Times to create dramatic landscapes has been announced as the winner of Laing Solo, the Laing Art Gallery’s award for emerging artists.

London-based Gordon Cheung uses a combination of techniques, including collage, Chinese ink and spray paint, to create scenes of imaginary worlds on the edge of destruction.

Laing’s new exhibition, Laing Solo: Gordon Cheung – Paradise Lost, showcases 24 of his new works, all of which were commissioned by the gallery and are being shown for the first time at the Newcastle Gallery until October 4 2007.

Manifest Destiny. © Gordon Cheung 2007

“Laing Solo is a series of exhibitions which profiles the work of emerging artists, who are selected through a national competition,” said Julie Milne, curator of the Laing Art Gallery.

“Gordon Cheung has been selected as one of this year’s winners and we will be showcasing a selection of his work in a dramatic and inspiring exhibition.”

Cheung’s work is full of references to popular culture, with Scooby Doo cartoon characters and figures from well-known films alongside images from mythology, iconic paintings, magazines and the internet.

His latest works, with their themes of disaster and destruction, are inspired by the work of 19th century Romantic artist John Martin, whose paintings, like The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, can also be seen at the Laing.

Gordon Cheung at the Laing. Photo Laing Art Gallery

Cheung was particularly drawn to Martin’s Paradise Lost series, which were originally published as illustrations for the poem by John Milton.

Cheung explained his motives: “I felt I could re-translate John Martin’s Paradise Lost series into a contemporary and relevant context.”

“The idea that we are losing, or certainly becoming increasingly urgent with, our relationship to Earth is compelling and to use an archetypal story as a means of understanding our era attracted me a great deal.”