About
My practice builds from a previous career in engineering and is an interplay between digital and oil-based works, including mappings of non-normative bodies, and digital investigations of the human body as a celebrated, objectified, abstracted form.
Often the work is driven by a desire to get under the skin, to pare away the superficial and reveal the substance, but it can be an urge to access the entire surface of the body in one go, to map the body like as terrain and to inspect its geography.
My practice involves collaboration with real people and invokes two sides of my brain. The scientific side interrogates digitised bodies, often resulting in time-based works – underpinned by an urge to make the pixel more visceral. The instinctive side of my brain has developed skills in oil painting – chosen for its ability to become flesh on the canvas.
Sometimes the work confronts the viewer with a particular human issue. For example the seminal work “Infinite Surface” made in collaboration with Prof. Richard Sawdon Smith, challenges the stigma attached to living with HIV. The development of this film into a VR installation was supported by the pharmaceutical company Gilead, the main provider of PrEP.
My work has been exhibited widely in the UK, Europe, Australia and USA.
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Awards
Winner of the NTU X Vieunite ART PRIZE 2022
The judging panel included Dr Benedict Carpenter van Barthold, Principal Lecturer Fine Art at NTU, Yasmin Canvin, freelance curator & artit, and Tom Godfrey, Director of the Bonington Gallery choose Specimen 07 as the first prize winner. Specimens
Second prize winner at the New York Centre for Photographic Arts 2022.
Mappa Mundi Inscribed won second prize at the exhibition “The Human Body” selected by juror Darren Ching of the Klompching Gallery of Brooklyn NY.
Qualifications
2013-15, MA in Fine Art, City and Guilds School of Art, London.
2012-13, Foundation Diploma in Art and Design, City Lit College, London.
Previously, BSc Engineering, University of Bath.
Residencies
Perfection / Speculation at Praksis, Oslo, from August 2020 until September 2021 with the exhibition Perfection/Speculation at the Vigeland Museum. My participation in the Perfection|Speculation Residency was supported by the Arts Council England.
The residents were selected from investigators whose focus is on the modifiable human body as a medium of expression, experimentation, research and social interaction: artists, designers, scientists, writers, psychologists, programmers, film- and video-makers and anthropologists.
Perfection / Speculation connected with body cultures of the past, present and future. It was supported by the Vigeland Museum and funded by the Arts Council Norway and the City of Oslo.
Commissions
Commissioned to create 5 new works for “All our tomorrows…” conference, King’s College, London, curated by Gabriel Gbadamosi and Jonathan Meth, KCL Arts and Humanities Festival 2017.
Selected Curated Exhibitions
2023, Sleeves Shock, London, curated by Jonathan Armour.
2022, Birth Sleeves? solo show, London, curated by Andrew Etherington.
2021, Wells Art Contemporary, Wells Cathedral.
2021, Perfection|Speculation, Vigeland Museum, Oslo, Norway, curated by Praksis and Adam Peacock.
2020, In the Dark 2020: Even Darker, Cello Factory, organised by The London Group with Flux Events and Computer Arts Soicety, curated by Genetic Moo.
2020, Digitalized Perspectives, MK Gallery, Portland USA, curated by Gabrijel Hammong Savic Ra.
2018 and 2017, Exceptional, Collyer Bristow Gallery, London, curated by Rosalind Davis.
2017, In Your Face, Salisbury Arts Centre, Salisbury, curated by Sadie Lee.
2017, Now, where are we? 1967-2017, Strand Gallery, London, curated by Michael Petry, exhibited with Sunil Gupta, Prof. Richard Sawdon Smith and Prof. Santiago Echeverry.
2017, Visiting Lecturer, Norwich University of the Arts, invited by the Dean.
2016, Money and Power, Guildhall Art Gallery, London, curated by Katherine Pearce.
Other Curated Exhibitions
2022, The Holy Collection of the Count of St. Germain, London, curated by Robin Spalding.
2020, Civil Disobedience: residente o visitante, Romantso in Athens, curated by Menelas.
2019, Fugita, Chapel at Brompton Cemetery, London, curated by Robert Taylor.
2017, Dartington Outing, Dartington Hall, Devon, curated by Dr. Kevin Childs.
2017, Federation Square and Midsumma Horizon, Melbourne, curated by Alison Bennett.
2017, Melt Festival, Brisbane, curated by Alison Bennett.
2016, Uncertain States, Mile End Arts Pavilion, London, curated by Uncertain States magazine.
Other Exhibitions/Events
2022, The Divine Complex, London.
2021, The Gardens of Earthly Delights, London.
2021, Our Digital Selves, online exhibition.
2020, Raft, online exhibition.
2020, Arada Arts Festival, Istanbul.
2020, Unmasked, Impulse Movement, online.
2020, Reconstruct, Pride Atelier, Berlin.
2019, What’s the point?, Menier Gallery, London.
2019, Looking the Other Way 2019, Espacio Gallery, London.
2019, FLUID Berlin, the Ballery, Berlin.
2019, FLUID, Espacio Gallery, London.
2017, GPN17, Hackney Wick, London.
2017, Summer Salon, Lubomirov Angus Hughes, London, curated by William Angus-Hughes.
2016, Indelible, Camden Image Gallery, London.
2016, DeArte, Palacio Neptuno, Madrid.
2015, Re:Defining Beauty, Leyden Gallery, London.
2015, 1 plus 3 skins, C&G Art School, London.
2015, 16/15, Muse Gallery, London.
2023, Sleeves Shock, London, curated by Jonathan Armour.
2019, Fugita, Chapel at Brompton Cemetery, London.
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- Son of Tutu performing at one of the events during the exhibition
All our tomorrows…, Anatomy Theatre King’s College, London, October 2017.
Now, where are we? 1967-2017, Strand Gallery, London, June-July 2017
The Lord Mayor of City of Westminster Ian Adams holding an original copy of the Wolfenden Report, with the team that delivered “Now, where are we? 1967-2017”.
Jonathan Armour, Guy Burch, Kevin Childs, Jonathan Cooper, Brian Dennis, Richard Dickson, Santiago Echeverry, Franc-off GodeVi, Sunil Gupta, Charan Singh, Angel Ito, Brad Kenny, Michael Petry, Richard Sawdon Smith, Milan Svanderlik.
#androtechne #nowwherearewe
“Exceptional”, Collyer Bristow Gallery, London, February 2017
“DeArte”, Madrid, February 2016
Jonathan Armour 