Name: Tom Hodgkinson
Born / Based in: Born in the east of England, a small town called Eye (Suffolk), grew up on the coast surrounded by nature, beaches, forests, marsh and heathland. Moved to Bristol in 2001 to find creative work and have been here ever since.
Energy from the Sun
Making art since: I have a framed note that I wrote at primary school, around age 5/6(so in the 80s), saying I wanted to be an artist when I grew up, at the time I was into drawing and making models, then got into photography, followed by music, animation and collage. One big early inspiration was probably seeing ‘the snail’ by Henri Matisse at the Tate, and being confused because, to me, it didn’t look like a snail where a lot of the other works(that I couldn’t remember) were more faithful to their subject matter. It was the image that stuck with me and I had a big poster of it on my bedroom wall.
What’s one thing you’d like people to know about you that doesn’t show up in your work? Back in 2001 I worked in the art department on a feature film called Thunderpants, about a boy who’s farts power a space rescue mission. I was making space shuttle interiors and set dressing. Growing up I was really into sci-fi so there seemed something serendipitous at the time with this being one of my first jobs in the creative world.
Those Things They Don’t Come Back
Which three tools, materials, or rituals are essential to your practice? My scalpel, solitary walking & a lifelong desire to make stuff, most of everything else can be interchangeable (even if I do tend to circle a few familiar themes in my work)
What makes a work unmistakably yours? Raw, messy, emotional, sincere, chaotic
Can you walk us through your process—from idea to finished piece? I don’t tend to have a single process that fits every work (and go between working on canvas and in sketchbooks), occasionally it comes from a sketch, but a lot of ideas form when I’m out walking. That is often the place where I have the space for ideas to formulate. Whether it’s something I’m currently feeling that is bubbling away, or something happening in the world that is playing on my mind, the seed of a visual idea, or the name of a piece which I note down on my phone. I have so much visual material in the studio and lots of half-finished canvas frames with layers built up over time, that once I have the expression of the idea, I match the visual, to the canvas background and the name and that’s usually when it all comes together.
Losing Faith
Commitment to Uncertainty
What’s something that’s been influencing your work lately—an image, sound, idea, or feeling? Bits of anxiety and stress about the state of the world, politics and coming out the other side of a painful breakup. Part of the want to ‘make’ comes from wanting to create a space where the layers of life peel away, when your focus shifts from the things swirling around in your head and how that translates to an image. The world can be so full on that finding ways to detach from it even for short periods is really important to me. There was a film form my childhood, the never-ending story, where the protagonist hid in an attic room at the top of his school to hide from the world and read, I think about that a bit, the detachment.
The Solitary Collective
What’s the latest project you’ve been working on, and what excites you about it? I’m part of a group exhibition (Take me apart) in my home city of Bristol, at this amazing crypt space below and old 15th century church, I went to an exhibition a couple of years back and have dreamt of showing work in there since, it’s this beautifully dilapidated old space and my work tends to suit that, or old industrial spaces for some reason.
After a really busy period of work with my day job in design/animation it was great to get back into making my own work. It’s on from the 30th October through till 12th Nov at the crypt below the Mount Without.
I Tasted Happiness
This Wild Fade
Who are three artists you think more people should know about? I really like Freya Jobbins 3-dimensional sculptural/assemblage collages, I’ve been a fan of Jenny Brosinski’s abstract narratives for a while, and not maybe traditionally an artist but a social commentator that is kind of poetic in their explanations of current events, pissedmagistus (not sure his real name) has been a source of inspiration.
What’s your personal definition of collage? I’m not one for overly using or sticking to labels, but my version of collage is kind of like sifting through the rubble, processing, it’s an emotional tool. Paper and printed media is central to that as I find it can be a quick and effective means to express the things I want to.
Learn more about Tom Hodgkingson on Instagram or his website.
Portrait at studio
That Would U Like 2
Are You Happy Now?
Out There
Generational Divides
The Calender of Dates You Don’t Want to Remember
You Were a Fortress
