This site profiles selected art practices, projects and portfolios by Duncan Hopkins, a visual artist based in North Devon, south-west UK.
“My practice is inter-disciplinary. I work in a variety of media, primarily painting, supported by digital graphics, collage, video & sound.
I shall be starting a MA Fine Art: Contemporary Practice course in October 2010.”
Statement
An artistic image is the result of layers of process between ‘reality / idea’ and object. Interfaces between looking, interpreting, materials, etc. result in the finished object.
A created object solely existing to be looked at, contemplated, perceived and experienced; and which can stimulate insights or questions, is a valid object. It has its origins in the roots of human perception and observation. It can help identify person and place.
Practices
I aim to produce contemporary, relevant work through the visual, sensory and compositional deconstruction of ‘accepted’ notions of what an image should be. I like to dig deep to find the core and essence of sources and environments, whether it is in the human psyche or the presence of a ‘landscape’. I do this through visual languages occasionally attaching psychological, political or esoteric meanings to the piece.
I work with a variety of media; I enjoy materials, processes and techniques. Each has its own fascination and resulting interpretation and analysis of ‘reality’.
Painting & Drawing
I have probably held a ‘romantic’ notion about painting since being a teenager, which still shapes my perception of the process. Painting uses ‘traditional’ materials and tools, and I still believe that there is something ‘magical’ about creating an image with the hand and eye, sticky coloured stuff and a few basic tools which sometimes looks like something…
The last few years I have been producing a ‘dualistic’ selection of work – ‘nice’ landscapes and seascapes which sell in the local area; and more abstract deconstructions based on esoteric ideas and the reality of the weather (grey, storms, threatening rocks, etc.) which contrast to the touristy, picturesque, liberal-conservative portrayal of a place.
Formally I am interested in the process of stripping away unnecessary details and allowing simple brush strokes, colour or composition to become prominent. I have not had any formal training with painting and it is often a continuous learning process.
Digital Images
These are images made or manipulated using software, and which are produced sequentially or as stand-alone pieces. There are various reasons for producing the work: its a way to use technology to create symbolic works; it is a way to alter reality; speed; ability to reproduce content; it is a way to produce collage without scissors and sticky tape… Sometimes this work is more directly political or humorous than my other work.
Video & Sound
I have just recently begun using video again. It is a practice that I have found much pleasure in at times in the past, but affording the equipment and having editing facilities has always prevented me from doing much outside of a college environment. Now the cameras are accessible and I can edit on my PC, and I can producing HD standard work at home.
My recent videos are mainly single sustained shots, with text and sound. My experiences as a photographer and painter have influenced this work. But rather than a static image, movement becomes a significant factor, and explores the portrayed environment with additional depth. The use of long single shots contradicts the rapid editing techniques often found in television, and can test a viewer’s patience; which is the plan and verges on meditation / trance processes.
A lot of the sequences are digitally manipulated, to enhance the visual meaning and to add a complexity for the viewer.
I use the ambient soundtrack or digitally enhance it. Also I digitally create soundtracks and music.
Photography
I have used photography from a young age; but currently I use it to primarily record the landscape I live in. This is then used as source material for digital images or paintings. I have not exhibited photographs for a long time; but is something I think about doing again in the future.
Thematic Concerns
I have touched on themes already. I am interested in the landscape and seascape; how it can symbolically reflect our own inner nature. A lot of my landscapes do not have people in. Whether this is a ‘romantic’ idea of the landscape and is avoiding dealing with realistic concerns I am not sure. I like to be in a landscape on my own, to experience the power and atmosphere of the place; to become aware of my part in the grander ‘cosmic’ scheme of things. In that sense it is a spiritual, elemental objective, and the artist then becomes similar to the shaman – interacting with nature and cosmos, bringing back news and information for the community. Using images and sound to enhance, expand and redefine ‘reality’. How much is perception and boundaries?
I am also interested to an extent in the suburban and urban environment – empty rooms, deserted public spaces, people caught in the frameworks of industry, work and home. People who are outside of these subliminal conventions. Places where things have happened, or may happen.
Materially, I am interested in the interaction of older processes and technology, and whether the audience is a passive onlooker or participating in the work.
Graphics
Images can also be used for graphics and illustration purposes, and you can commission me to produce work for a variety of media.
My formal art education has been in Graphic Design. I still produce websites and some print & illustration work on a small scale. This allows me to work with digital technology; and a designer has to produce different work for different clients. This influences the variety of artwork that I produce.
Community Work
I have been involved with various community groups over the years, producing artwork, graphics and websites. I am currently involved with a recently formed group called the Bideford Bay Creatives which is a local group of artists and craft-workers in North Devon. The group has various objectives, including exhibiting art with local businesses and community; becoming involved with doing workshops for Youth Services; and future plans include establishing an arts centre with workshop, studio and exhibition spaces.
Qualifications
MA Fine Art: Contemporary Practice – University College Falmouth, Cornwall, October 2010
HNC Multimedia & Graphic Design – Strode College, Somerset 2003
BA Graphic Design – Bristol Polytechnic 1991
