CV. William Hughes
b.1999
Artist / Curator / Photographer / Facilitator / Reminiscer
Biography.
William Hughes (b.1999, Coventry) is a multidisciplinary visual artist working in a semi-abstracted way around themes of memory and remembering. He draws on specific memories and nostalgic material from his family’s history, influencing his multimedia approach to working. He works with often discarded and forgotten material to depict intimate and fragile themes. William shows that remembering might be the same as creating art, a constant practice of creation and reworking. Currently working in Coventry, his work responds to the loss of his grandfather, memory and deterioration. Themes of ambiguity, repetition, and discovery influence his multimedia approach to working. Being featured in exhibitions over the city and in London as well as being featured in publications, William has experience of networking and communicating with other artists and art professionals with plans to curate his first solo exhibitions and pop up exhibitions in unconventional environments. William loves to collaborate and plans to create a zine in the near future exploring graduate talent in the arts sector.
Artist Statement.
“Memory is a delay. Memory is a fragment. Memory is of the body that passed. Memory is the trace of a wave goodbye made with a slightly clenched fist. ” (Robert Morris, 1994)
How do we read memories? My practice seeks to explore processes of memory and remembering, reflecting and drawing ideas from nostalgic material from my family. Working with multimedia processes I create works of abstraction and suggestion set in spaces that trigger feelings of familiarity in the audience. The processes of abstract marking, texture built through layering, and its residual traces, aim to depict confusion and ambiguity. I worked in collaboration with my grandfather, using his equipment, his memories, to create pieces. As his memory gradually worsened, the work mirrored him; gradually becoming more deteriorated.
An intended dialogue is created throughout my work. I play with the audience’s knowledge of information presented. Aspects of the pieces have double meaning- some universal in themes of memory and other more individual and specific to me. Memory isn’t 100% trustworthy yet, I try getting the audience to look at the pieces and the spaces around them similar to exploring the mind for thoughts. To what extent will we try to remember?
“Photography has almost no reality; it is almost a hundred per cent picture. And painting always has reality: you can touch the paint; it has presence; but it always yields a picture – no matter whether good or bad.” (Gerhard Richter Interview with Jonas Storsve, 1991)
‘Memory is similar to anticipation: an instrument of simplification and selection.’ (Alain de Botton)
How do we read memories? Throughout my practice, I seek to explore processes of memory and remembering, reflecting and drawing ideas from nostalgic media from my family. I work with image, video and found material to make multi-media ensemble artworks. Working in this way allows for conversation and dialogue to build between them, creating hints towards what I am feeling and remembering.
The constructed artworks act as support for my Grandfathers whom are both suffering with Alzheimer’s disease. The work feels deteriorated in places through process, which mirrors their experiences of how mind is starting to fade. They act as a preservation tool and spark a memory for them when they’re viewed.
An intended dialogue is created between the paint, photo, print and other materials in the grouping, which creates a questioning for the viewer. I am assembling materials together with a thought in mind for my grandparents- a supportive aid for their sanity and mental health, but these can mean something much more different for the audience member. Everyone will experience memory loss in some form whether it’s our own or watching someone else forget. A forgetting, and deterioration; therefore the work feels relatable but on a different level. Each piece is curated with specific material and images that develop their own meaning for the viewer; there’s a level of audience participation and interpretation needed for my studio practice. A natural initial response is confusion but with the work is visually stimulating and will result in a personal dialogue which is often unique for each person.
A photograph is a moment we capture, frozen forever. A photo in a way is a time machine, taking us back to the moment and allowing us to remember. For me, the photo allows me to communicate with my grandfather who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. My works are depictions of us trying to remember a feeling or moment in our life when we can’t fully grasp every detail. They take a multi-media approach and work in collaboration with my grandfather creating depictions and impressions of almost forgotten memories. What happens when we forget what we’ve seen? And to what extent will we try to remember?
Education.
2022 - 2023 Coventry University and ArtTechSpace: Art Technician Bootcamp
2021 - 2022 University of Birmingham: Art History and Curating MA (Merit)
2017 - 2020 Coventry University: Fine Art BA (First Class Hons)
Exhibitions Experience.
Upcoming (Dates Unconfirmed) // Coventry Dresden Arts Exchange
2023: Coventry Open 2023
2021: Vertical Merger (Uncovered Collective, London)
2021: Small Works (part of the Friendship Festival Coventry Dresden)
2021: Distanced Domestic (with Co.Curation - MKII Studios, Clapton, London)
2021: Lay Me To Rest (Solo Exhibition) (Arcadia Gallery, Coventry Artspace)
2021: COVert Arts Risers Exhibition (The Box, FARGO)
2020: Rugby Open 2020
2020: The State of the Arts - CuratorSpace Exhibition
2020: Emergent Vision (Uncovered Collective - Safehouse, London)
2020: Displaced Degree Show - The Student Gallery
2020: The SHIM / Bachelors Show
2020: Materiality (Online Exhibition)
2020: Looking & Longing (Critical Theories: Curating the Domestic)
2020: Transmission (Online Exhibition - with Broken Grey Wires)
2020: Turn the lights out when you leave (Coventry University - Degree Show)
2020: Coventry Open 2020
2020: Depicting Memory (Pop Up: Solo Exhibition)
2019: Coventry Sketchbook Project (City of Culture 2021)
2019: London Fujifilm Print Life Exhibition
2019: Coventry Printmakers' Inaugural Exhibition
2019: Coventry University Drawing Prize (Winner 2019)
2019: TEN HAND DRAWN FILMS (4D Group Collaboration)
2018: Fine Art Levels 2 & 3: Open Studios
2018: University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire Winter Exhibition
2018: Premiere (Level One Exhibition)
Experience.
2023 - Present: Artist in Residence, Coventry University
2022 - 2023: Art Technician Bootcamp (working at The Herbert Art Gallery, The Reel Store and with Coventry Biennial).
2021 - 2022: Coventry BID - Young Person Board Member
2021 - Present: Front of House Member at IKON Gallery
2021 - Present: Head Curator and Content Creator at Interim Arts (Online Platform)
2020: Quiet Down There CIC - Transcriber; Admin assistant; Website technician; Social Media assistant
2020: Print Manufactory Internship
2019: Coventry Biennial Volunteer
2018 & 2019: Brookhusrt Primary School Visiting Artist & Classroom assistant
Curatorial Experience.
2021 - 2022: Co-curater, 'The Age of Dreamers is Over', Grand Union Gallery, Birmingham
2021: As Yet Untitled - Interim Arts Publication: Issue 01 and 02
Published.
2021: Out of Office Volume 1 - Concrete Collar
2021: Somer House Publishing (Issue 2) - Grounding
2021: The Places Zine (Issue 2)
2021: The Student Gallery - April Publication
2021: The New Artist (Issue 1) - Boomer Gallery
2021: TSDAP'S New Graduates Catalogue: 2020 Edition
2021: Artists Responding To (Issue 6)
2020: The Postcard Project Book
2020: Quarantine Zine (Lock Down Collages, Page 272)
2020: Backlog Zine (Issue 3)
2020: Quarantzine (Issue 2)
2020: Psychasthenia E-Book
2020: Secret Knock: Stay Home Zine
2020: Pinocchio's Got Nothing On You (Featured in zine with Broken Grey Wires)
Press and Other Publicity.
2021: The Virus Who Came To Tea (Virtual Exhibition)
2020: The Dispensary Gallery - Interview
2020: Online Residency with AfterIllusion
2020: Coventry Tarmac Website (Photography contributed and featured)
2020: Art Link - Interview
2020: HelloArt Exhibition (Virtual Exhibition)
2020: The Lockdown Gallery
2020: Groock's Gallery (Virtual Gallery)
2020: HubCap Gallery (Virtual Exhibition)
2020: Sadgrads
2020: The Social Distance Art Project
Social Links.
