Notes on development: Current paintings 2024:
Introduction:
Since 1983, I’ve connected the development of my artwork to establishing projects that illuminate societal, scientific, and medical issues often hidden from the public. I’d work with others to broaden access to services and visual art, especially for minorities. It’s a method to directly tap into resources for creating work that reflects on my experiences while providing analytical insights and fresh perspectives on some of life’s flaws and intrigue in mainstream culture. Since the mid-1990s, the paintings have explored the conflict between chance and control, inspired initially by near-death experiences.
There’s transparency to the painting process, which involves an exact balance of actions. Sealed canvas frameworks are built to contain liquids and various composite solutions are prepared. I work quickly and intuitively, applying the solutions at precise intervals, sometimes scratching into and ripping away at the surface. As the work dries over time, layered applications and submerged forms reveal an emergence of tension in the struggle for change. The process doesn’t allow the same result twice; instead, it’s about demonstrating what’s possible on the journey.
Background: In 1990, after returning from research in the Comoros Islands, I was diagnosed with Group A streptococcus septicaemia (GAS). This experience sparked my interest in exploring the origins of pathogens and bacteria. The research I covered in microbial structure and function at the CBCB between 2016 and 2019 continues to provide a fresh perspective on the complexities of life. It informs the development of art: product choice and actions on the surface; add dimension to the interactive qualities of the work as a public installation.
Aim: Working in science labs has inspired exciting and alternative ways of presenting the work to the public. The goal is to collaborate with a curator to develop ideas for exhibiting the paintings as a public installation that interacts with the spaces from a broader, less conventional angle.
Current work-Inside the studio: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/work/item/inside-the-studio-spring-2024/
John Millard: CBCB review: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/work/cat/artist-at-the-cbcb/
Dr Outi Remes: Processing Paintings: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/work/item/processing-paintings/?cat=84
Film archives: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/films/
Further information: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/work/cat/about-derek-hill/
Work Collections: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/work/
