Abstract

Circuit, James Hutchinson’s new exhibition at UNIT 24 is the result of an all
encompassing obsession with drawing and its application to painting,
sculpture, digital print and performance. Taking inspiration from the
ambulant JMW Turner, Hutchinson uses mobile technology to facilitate
drawing on the move. “Anywhere can be my studio though predominantly my
digital work takes place on the train between Newcastle and Sunderland,”
says Hutchinson.

Hutchinson takes the view that inspiration can strike in the most banal of
places, having a mobile handy allows him to realize an image before it
disappears.
While embracing mobile digital media, Hutchinson’s work is transmogrified
into traditional media, both in his studio and virtually within cutting edge
computer technology. His work begins from a simple starting point; the
pixel, the line, the cube, a text or found object, and undergoes various
transformations.

Using a leather sofa cover for the performance 'Klippen Man', Hutchinson
recreated a seminal Joseph Beuys performance, Coyote (without the
Coyote), and dissected the leather cover to use as a surface to paint images
onto. It was inspired both by art history and personal 'Handy' drawings for
which Hutchinson draws upon a bank of images from magazines, films and
art, comic strips and children’s television. It is a process, which can be seen
as both primeval and alchemical. The outcomes are presented at Unit24: a
selection of recent paintings, digital prints, animations and sculptures.

Coinciding with the exhibition is a new publication 'C.' a book of drawings by
James Hutchinson.
'C.' is 138 pages softback 8X5ins B&W is available from the
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1992859 shop priced £9.48.

James Hutchinson has exhibited extensively both nationally and
internationally. He was born in London in1968, and graduated from Chelsea
College of Art and Design with a degree in painting in 1990 and in fine art