CONTENTS
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03 | DAN FAIRBANKS
13 | CALUM JOHNSTON
23 | JIEHAO SU
32 | MATHEW TOM
COVER | Jiehao Su
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DAN FAIRBANKS
Even Though you’re really so young, I noticed that your body of work consists of an interesting duality: the memory, then looking back to the past, to the roots, and the narration of current topics, such as identity and sexuality. Tell us more about this aspect, how you came to develop these themes? I have always been interested in finding the core of an idea; taking things completely apart and then putting them back together. Today’s idea of sexuality is very interesting, you don’t have to have a specific identity whereas in the past these ideas were still very real, but either undocumented or under-formatted without the platform of the Internet. I am attempting to format these past ideas and see how they relate to my own identity as well as the identity of my grandfather, whom I don’t know very much about other than the fact that he lived a dual life that was uncovered only later. He was married with children but ended his life because he couldn’t cope with his true identity, a gay man. I want to find where his duality could have taken place, physically, emotionally and mentally.
What are the most important influences that have moved you as an artist? As I continue to uncover more about my grandfathers past, I dive deeper into a life that seems inspiring and sad. With that same idea, I find myself drawn to spaces that reflect these same feelings like the ocean and the beach, which my grandfather was extremely fond of. The experiences of past gay men who defied social norms and paved the way for me to live the life I have today also keeps me going as an artist and as a contemporary gay man.
Gloryhole Digital scan and manipulation Dimensions variable 2014
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BAE Digital scan and manipulation Dimensions variable 2014
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How would you describe your subject matter? How would you describe your work to a complete stranger? My subject matter is commentary on gay artists and their work, which seems very broad, but boils down to what can be seen as “gay” images, colors, spaces, movements, etc. I am still trying to figure out what is considered “gay” so the subject matter is constantly changing. I normally describe my work as research rather than actual physical work because I am constantly looking and writing about things and then moving on to the next thing, documenting as I go. The work comes out of then anesthetizing the objects, writings, or scans attempting to stylize these different forms. You use the photo manipulation to transform the way of pre-existing photos, could you explain more in detail how deal with this creative process, like in Bae, Gloryhole...? Reproducing the imagery is not enough so I attempt to disillusion the viewer to take a second look at what they are analyzing. Visual barriers are very important in representing a duality of identification. With Bae, the piece is the scan, but it is also the manipulation. I have also manipulated the face of the subject, made his lips bigger, given him a slight smile and his eyes more of sheen. The original images I am using do not have many layers physically; they are one-color pigment prints. I want to imbue layers of color and translucence, giving the men layers that build their personality. All of the images of the men are lovers. I see the images I produce as being found in a bunker of a long past soldier who lived an unchallenged, beautiful, gay life. With Gloryhole, I am referencing an actual gloryhole, but the image is soft and relates to the act but no other aspect of sucking a man’s cock through a hole in a toilet stall. I feel like I am producing a romantic fantasy rather than a raw sexual experience.
All of my Boyfriends Installation Archival photos, plaster 8 x14 inches - 20 x 35 cm 2014
Tell us about the use of videotape in your work. The use of videotape is very important to my work. The videotapes I am using hold the sexually explicit acts while the descriptions outside of the tapes reference to what happens within the tape. With everexpanding technological forms, the videotape is losing its purpose, not many people have a vhs player any longer. The videotape then becomes a relic of something that happened and is unattainable. Especially with Internet porn, the tapes are probably online somewhere already, but the original is within this box of film that cannot be viewed without (what seems like) an ancient machine.
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A ROLL IN THE HAY Digital inkjet print Scan of VHS cover Dimensions variable 2013
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I love the idea of a hint or a challenge. The exterior of these tapes hint to what could or has happened. What about your books, like measuring up, penny rubbing, knotty...? Each book represents the act of a repeating process, which produces no improvement or stagnation. I see these books as a physicality of effort without the justification of a completed goal other than the aesthetic beauty of the form. They work well with the other work in deploying a somber emotional attachment but in this case, only towards a mundane object or objective. The process of making the book is meditative, but viewing the book calls for the viewer to become hyper-observant. What art do you most identify with? I identity most with minimalist work. Robert Ryman will always captivate me, he produces the physicality of imbued power and efforts and it surpasses anything I’ve ever felt when witnessing artwork. Agnes Martin makes me feel a similar way. I also identify with the work of Paul Cadmus and George Platt Lynes. The beauty, pain, and sexuality they produced within the confines of their images are so powerful. I try and take the feelings that Paul and George poured into their work with the power and aesthetic of Robert and Agnes. Cousin Bobby Scan of VHS tape cover Dimensions variable 2013
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Forfeit Readymade Gayhouse Magazine (Septembre ĂŠditions) and pillowcase 19 x 24 inches - 48 x 60 cm 2013
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I’M AT THE BEACH AND EVERYTHING IS OKAY Drawing - Graphite on large scale, heavyweight watercolor paper 24 x 30 inches - 60 x 76 cm 2012
Could you tell us about this is a good room for penetration? This video piece stemmed from when I first started to work with the videotapes. I had a very hard time finding a vhs player to view the tapes, but when I did, I was more captivated by the environment in which the men have sex rather than the pornography. I feel all porn is the same now and extremely accessible. This porn was only different in the time period it was produced and the environments they had sex. This is a good room for penetration is clips of Internet porn spliced together showing the space and time before eroticism.
What are you working on at the moment? Right now I am working on different formats of presentation. You can print a photograph and frame it a million different ways and I want to find the way that best fits what my style is eluding too. I’ve started working with textile; producing my own and researching what could be considered a “gay” textile. Finding the connection between repeating patterns and how we identify ourselves is an idea I am just beginning to dissect. I am also always researching, finding connections between artists who slept with who in the past, who was gay and who was “confused” and who disappeared.
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Beach Vacation Readymade Shadowbox within shadowbox sand, archival photo 18 x 22 x 4 inches 45 x 55 x 10 cm 2013
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Luigi’s Gayz Readymade Luigi Lucioni print and acetate overlay suspended between two panes of glass 14 x 17 inches - 36 x 43 cm 2014
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Measuring up Journal Graphit, hair 4 x 6 inches - 10 x 15 cm 2012 Each page consists of a small structured drawing, single hair, and viewing slit. When opened to first page, the viewing slit is blocked by the collection of hair embedded within each page.
Dan Fairbanks was born in New London, Connecticut in 1991 and raised just outside of Detroit, Michigan. He just completed his BFA in Fine Arts from the school of Visual Arts in New York City. He works for the School of Visual Arts MFA Art Practice program and has just begun to show in small galleries in New York and New Jersey. In December, Fairbanks will be showing in Miami Project art fair during Miami Art Basel week.
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JIEHAO SU
Tell us a bit about you. Tell us your story I was born and raised in Southern China. The sudden death of my mother when I was 18 was the first shock in my life that led me to realize the impermanence of the world and made me think about life itself. As I was searching for a way to escape from reality, I received my first camera, a TLR camera from a friend. I fell in love with it the moment I saw those color slide films on the light-box. I have always been lured by serenity and beauty in ordinary everyday scenes.
I spent several years wandering in China and in some parts of Asia, living a nomadic life. Being able to appreciate the world from a wanderer’s perspective has greatly stimulated my curiosity about life. Maybe this is one of the reasons why I began to work on photography.
What initially inspired you to start doing photography? I graduated from school three years after my mother’s death. At that time I still had difficulty understanding what it meant to be alive, how the world worked and emany other things. I was also at the point not knowing whether I wanted to go. So I decided to leave my hometown to just travel and let the world present itself to me.
What themes are you working with? What do you want to tell with your photos? Because of my personal experiences and the years of traveling and constant moving, I am fascinated by the notions of memory, identity, and especially the sense of belonging. By working on the series Borderland, I feel like I am able to revisit the past and rebuild my memory.
How would you best define your approach to photography? In my view, photography is not only a way to reconnect with memory, it also provides the possibility to transform or surpass reality.
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Boys in Blue Borderland project Photography Archival Pigment Print 24 x 30 inches - 61 x 76 cm 2012
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Woman Picking Leaves Borderland project Photography Archival Pigment Print 24 x 30 inches - 61 x 76 cm 2012
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Your photographic series seems to be a metaphorical journey back to your homeland, in search of your identity. How does the distance from it influence your work? In my work, China is explored from the perspective of “homeland.” My home city is just one of the many cities in China which have changed dramatically due to a national process of urbanization. “What does home mean to me” has been a central question in my intellectual and emotional inquiry. The psychological distance from my homeland is also present in the photographs -unfamiliar but intimate.
ANIMAL PHARM #8 collage on paper 30 x 22 inches - 76 x 56 cm 2014
Zou Behind the Window Borderland project Photography - Archival Pigment Print 24 x 30 inches - 61 x 76 cm 2012
There are many people portrayed in your photos, what do you see in the faces of the people you meet along the way? Most of the people in the photos are strangers. I encounter people in public places, such as parks, campuses, riverbanks, etc. Taking these portraits to me is almost like taking self-portraits, as I reach back to reconnect my present and my past. I see myself in the faces of the people I met along the way. Could you tell us about Homecoming, how did this series come about? The theme of Homecoming is “Gu Xiang”, which means “Hometown” in Chinese. I was born in Southern China and left my hometown for university. During these homecoming visits in 2012-2013, for the first time I began to look at my hometown from an observer’s perspective, pondering over people’s daily lives and reflecting upon the connections of past, memory and identity. My aim was to search for beauty and poetic grace in domestic life.
Residential District Borderland project Photography - Archival Pigment Print 24 x 30 inches - 61 x 76 cm 2012
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Sisters Borderland project Photography - Archival Pigment Print 24 x 30 inches - 61 x 76 cm 2012
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PAVILION Borderland project Photography - Archival Pigment Print 24 x 30 inches - 61 x 76 cm 2012
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LAKE Summer’s Almost Gone project Photography - Archival Pigment Print 16 x 20 inches - 40 x 50 cm 2011
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ANIMAL PHARM #1 collage on paper 30 x 22 inches - 76 x 56 cm 2014
What about Borderland? Could you tell us about this trip? Borderland is an ongoing project deeply rooted in my personal history. I left the place where I grew up and started a long journey across China when I was 18. After a few years of living a nomadic life, I gradually began to yearn for a sense of belonging. I gave birth to Borderland in 2012, as I revisited some familiar and nostalgic places related to my past. The images comprise my obsession with the boundaries between reality and the imaginary, present experience and memory, isolation and belonging. I use both fiction and non-足fiction as themes in my work to rebuild my self-足awareness by trying to represent a version of homeland, as well as finding comfort through reconnection to the past.
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In your photos your intimate story is revealed; how do you feel about having your inner identity stripped bare for the viewer to see? Borderland is an intimate work of remembrance, tenderness and self-足consolation, although it also provides my perspective of a contemporary China in its process of urbanization. By revealing my personal story to the world, I feel like I am able to face my past. Maybe this could be a way of self-足healing for me. Swimmer Borderland project Photography Archival Pigment Print 24 x 30 inches - 61 x 76 cm 2012
Man with His Dogs Borderland project Photography Archival Pigment Print 24 x 30 inches - 61 x 76 cm 2012
Jiehao Su was born in 1988 and raised in Southern China. He travelled extensively in China before he studied photography at Beijing Film Academy. His work is deeply rooted in his personal history. In between reality and imagination, he mainly deals with the notions of memory, identity and belonging. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally In 2012 Jiehao was awarded the Excellent Photographer Prize and received a two-year working grant from Jinan Photo Biennial. He was nominated for the 4th Houdengke Documentary Photography Award in 2013. He currently lives and works in Beijing. www.jiehaosu.com
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CAFE Summer’s Almost Gone project Photography - Archival Pigment Print 16 x 20 inches - 40 x 50 cm 2011
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CALUM JOHNSTON
When did you first become interested in art? I, much like any other child, enjoyed drawing, painting and colouring-in but I was not brought up in an artistic family. I grew up in a regular working class home in Glasgow and my first love was music, not art. I didn’t seriously become interested in art until I left a university music course, after three days, to follow a path that would lead me to an education in fine art. From that moment on I was hooked, I fell further and further down the rabbit hole, in fact I still haven’t hit the bottom yet. How did you come to work with the mediums you use? I was lucky to study at the Glasgow School of Art Fine Art Photography department. It was there that I learned the importance of concept and the understanding that the medium is secondary in the search for the success of the finished outcome.
In saying that, I do believe that I start from a photographic perspective. I value craft and am fastidious to the point of compulsion but the basis of my work is the concept and the material or medium is a tool used to achieve this. So whether the outcome be photographic, sculptural, canvas based or object orientated, the medium and the material are used as a vehicle for the concept. In your body of work, it seems wellrendered that language is a preferred subject. How did you come about this and how do you integrate this topic in to your work? I’m an archetypal Glasgow boy. I like football and Belle and Sebastian, denim jackets and reading the paper with a pint. From this world, the fine art establishment can seem a million miles away. The first barrier being the vocabulary used.
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500 Words on a Table Tennis Ball 500 words transcribed onto the surface of a table tennis ball 1,6 x 1,6 inches - 4 x 4 cm 2011
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CUNT Text on paper 6 x 8 inches - 14,8 x 21 cm 2011
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This isn’t just in spoken or written language but also in the visual language used within contemporary art. This is something that I feel obliged to challenge within my work. Language is such a rich subject matter that it could sustain my work until the day I die. Language is everywhere and affect’s everything. It’s how we define ourselves within our communities, it’s how we buy and how we sell, it’s how we suppress or how we champion, really it’s our live’s struggle and often our ability to manipulate language is a gauge of the success we enjoy within any walk of life. Language is a great subject matter to research because I believe everything is language from the concept to the gallery. Could you tell us about the Trånsmitiøn’s project? Trånsmitiøn is based upon my own ignorance. In 2012 I moved from Glasgow to Copenhagen and to my shock and horror and without my prior knowledge I had bought into the post-colonial ignorance that everyone in the civilized world spoke fluent English.
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Kold Bronze Sculpture 2014
Where do you find your inspiration? I find inspiration in the everyday nuances that affect my life in the hope that if I find something interesting then someone else might share my interest. Sometimes I start with a basic project framework, like I am currently doing within Trånsmitiøn, and other times I let the work find the project. Once I find something of interest I usually take that to the library and read extensively in the hope of making connections that might spark something into life. I also like to talk to anyone that is willing to listen. Over beer, coffee, wine or food, I’m not fussy, this always helps me develop ideas or find new areas of interest.
Seeing young people on the breakfast television show all speaking Danish was a genuine shock. This is a biographic story told about my struggles with adapting to a new culture and language as citizen of an old and crumbling colonial power. I am trying to examine the idiosyncrasies of our cultures and how their past and present affect our outlooks on life.
One thousan word and the first men on Mercury Sculpture - Bone, wood and ink 20, 5 x 12,5x 18,6 cm 2014
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Do you want to tell us the story of 1993? How did you begin this piece? 1993 is fun. I first noticed the similarities within the work when I was doing some research. Martin Creed and Gabriel Orozco are two of my favorite artists and I found it an utterly bizarre coincidence or possibly the quickest artistic response of all time. I started to think about it more and more as a conversation, as so much of this project was based on call and response or “ping and pong’. I suppose I wanted – or needed – it to be a dialog, so I made the postcards and introduced the idea to both of the artists, the work is just a documentation of that. There is a fun story with this piece, I never received a written response from the artists but on the first night I exhibited the piece I got into a rather long chat about copyright issues with a rather dapper older gentleman. After explaining the a little bit about the piece and showing the written letters that were sent to the artists the man smiled and said he would be sure to tell his son… The gentleman was Martin Creed’s father and sure enough one week later I received a message from Mr. Creed congratulating me on a great piece of work. 1993 Installation - Mail Art Postcards and written letters 2011
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Tell us about Ping-Pong ball in formaldehyde. Are you also making a reference to the works of Damien Hirst ? Yes, with this work I am making two direct references or quotations, one being Damien Hirst’s series of works with animal carcasses submerged in formaldehyde and the other being Jeff Koones’ Three balls total equilibrium tank. My interest here is the value of the contemporary masterpiece. I examine the grandiose nature of material and scale as well as the visual language of the white cube and the contemporary art world. I think that Hirst and Koones are both great makers and do not wish to disparage there work at all. I just want to highlight the absurdity of the art market. What art do you most identify with? I identify with any work of art that can make me question myself. I think it is important for the artist to challenge the viewer. I also love the work of those who have had somewhat similar experiences as myself, I suppose I find it easy to relate with people that are from the same country, went to the same school or drank in the same bars. I love the poetry of Edwin Morgan, the videos of Douglas Gordon and the drawings of David Shrigley. It would be tedious to read and impossible to write, if I were to list all of the artists that I like, as there are many and they are of different disciplines and different time periods.... That being said, special mention to Ian Hamilton Findlay!
Ping-Pong ball in formaldehyde Perspex cube Formaldehyde, table tennis ball 7,5 x 7,5 inches - 19 x 19 cm 2011
What are you working on at the moment? At present, I’m working on completing the Trånsmitiøn project and exhibiting it in its entirety in 2015. I have had a series of ups and downs over the last few years and have relocated to a new country so I’ve struggled to make work in a consistent way. I’m now settled in Copenhagen and have a great studio as part of a collective at Kunstnere Tietgensgade 31. So I’m really looking forward to having a fruitful 2015.
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METAL DROPPED INTO WARM Sculpture- Alloy Metal 12 x 4 inches - 30 x 10 cm 2011
Calum Johnston was born in Glasgow, Scotland in November 1986. Between the years 2007 - 2011 he studied at the Glasgow School of Art. In May of 2012 he relocated to Copenhagen, Denmark. In his short career he has exhibited internationaly in amungst others Den Frie Copenhagen (DK), Center for Contemporary Arts Glasgow (UK), Garrery Image Aarhus (DK), Lockview Ohio (USA) and Blank Space Manchester(UK).
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In 2011 his piece 500 words won the DR Kunstklubs Publikumspris. Later that year he was also shortlisted for the Title Art Prise 2011 for his work 1993 in which he also recieved a personal commendation from the Artist Martin Creed.
Brown Sugar/White Sugar
VARM Photography Lambda print 31 x 20 inches - 79,5 x 50 cm 2014
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MATHEW TOM
What Inspired You to Work in the Visual Arts? I would say I was always interested in creating things. But I didn’t always know what medium it would take. I would say since I was about 21, I have been fully dedicated to being a visual artist. I often think it is more like a mental disease than an occupation since I can’t really stop thinking about and making work. How would you describe your work to a complete stranger? What themes are you working with? For the past 3 years, I’ve been developing a fictional spiritual community called Society of Friends. Through video, photographs and installation, I have been describing a utopian society turned dystopian through boredom, vanity and a desire to believe. On the outside, a perfect place where beauty and belief reign, but within the society, the onset of boredom, lack of structure and narcissism lead to dissatisfaction. I am working with ideas of cultural confusion and also ideas of using satire as an artistic structure to make artwork.
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Can you tell a bit about the inspiration behind this series, Society of Friends? I lived in India for a bit when I was younger and traveled all around to the different temples, ashrams and monasteries. I found them so fascinating and amazing. I always thought I should just stay here and live the rest of my life here in perfect harmony. But I always kept moving in my travels. I think because to me I know it is a false reality. I think after the initial charm wears away I will be left in a place like Society of Friends - a place where dullness and monotony take over my life. However, I am fascinated with this idea. I can’t seem to escape wanting to live in this form of society so I make my own utopia for my characters to live in instead of me. How would you best define your approach to videoart? I would say my approach to video art is probably different since I come from a painting background. So to me, video art is just a way to make more narrative paintings. I was struggling with painting since it was so difficult for me to convey
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Friend in green Photography - Giclee Print 12,40 x 16 inches - 31.5 x 40.5 cm 2014
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Friend in blue Photography - Giclee Print 12,40 x 16 inches - 31.5 x 40.5 cm 2014
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Friend with banana Photography - Giclee Print 12,40 x 16 inches - 31.5 x 40.5 cm 2014
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Friend Eating Peach Photography - Giclee Print 12,40 x 16 inches - 31.5 x 40.5 cm 2014
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Meditation in red Meditation in Black Meditation in green Watercolor on Paper 11 x 15 inches - 28 x 38 cm 2014
some of my ideas. By making video, I have a lot more control over the way I tell the story. Tell us about He Knows He Is Not Real One day I was thinking about some of my friend’s relationships with religion. In a way they are obsessed. They love their god more than anything else - more than their family, their work, their life. I thought this was actually quite sexual. They seemed to actually be in love. So I wanted to make a work where one of my friends in the society crosses the line between familial love and romantic love with one of their idols. Also, I thought if the idol actually did reciprocate their love, wouldn’t it be terrifying instead of joyous? That is why the man is in a confused state after the kiss.
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Tell us also about Fun and games, what is the meaning behind this work? In He Knows He Is Not Real, the idea is about the supernatural. In Fun and Games, it is about the super ordinary. I wanted to make a work that visually illustrates the concept of boredom. So my guys are eating and playing games, but lack any excitement or fulfillment in their activities. They are caught in this purgatory like existence and are just going through the motions. I wanted the images to become almost hypnotic by removing their emotions.
Disciple with Flower Oil and Charcoal on Linen 55 x 43 inches - 140 x 110 cm 2012
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Melancholy Disciples Oil and Charcoal on Linen 55 x 43 inches - 140 x 110 cm each 2012
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Welcome to Paradise exhibition Hoxton Art Gallery, London November 2012
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What is your working process like? How do you get from idea to final product? I am usually inspired by something I read or a conversation I might have had. Even something simple might start the creative process. For example, I will usually think something like, why do I never see any women go on spiritual journeys? That inspired me to make my first video, Spiritual America. So I will think of an overall idea then try to flesh it out by bringing previous experiences I’ve had into the mix. Then it is just a matter of finding the right actors, materials, locations, etc. I try to make all my own props so the final works end up taking ages to make. But I think it is worth it since I have more control over the finished product. What are you currently working on? Right now I have decided to work on some small paintings and sculptures. As I mentioned earlier, I originally come from a painting background so I thought it would be nice for my future videos to incorporate a more traditional art element. I was thinking that some of my members in the Society of Friends should be artisans. So I will make the paintings and sculptures be a part of future storylines in addition to them being displayed next to the videos and photographs. I hope this creates a more immersive viewing experience, where you can connect each work of art into each other. Also, my good friend, Ting Tong Chang, and I are working on a double show which would be about the idea of dueling utopias. There will be his version next to mine in the space so the boundaries between the utopias will blur and hopefully create a really unusual show.
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Spritual America HD Video duration 4’28” 2011
Spritual America HD Video Duration 4’28� 2011
Mathew Tom was born in Sarasota, Florida, to a Chinese father and an American mother. He has always been interested in this idea of cultural melding leading to identity confusion. He received his MFA at Goldsmiths, University of London and also has previously studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
He most recently finished a residency at the Royal Academy, London, where he was he awarded the Starr Fellowship from 2013-2014. He has shown internationally in the United States, England, Wales, Spain, The Netherlands and India. www.mathewtom.com/
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