Joe Machine is an English painter, illustrator and writer. Joe grew up in a violent environment around the bars and drinking establishments of the 'Cockney Riviera' and the dock towns of North Kent. He was exposed to stabbings and pub fights from an early age and first began making drawings of his experiences in primary school. As his life spiralled into crime and disorder, he was sent to special school and young offender’s institutions for violence and theft. His colourful background includes involvement with illegal gambling, working as a bouncer in South East London and the rave scene of the 1990s. He began making paintings in 1988 in an effort to visualise his life and environment. In 1999 he became a founder member of the Stuckists, the first anti-conceptual Remodernist art movement.
