The Work of David Hawkins
David Hawkins was born in Gloucester and was educated at Liverpool University and Goldsmiths Colledge.Most of his life he has spent in England but now he devotes his time between the Greek island of Syros,Berlin and London. This existence between two hectic great metropolises and the tranquil remoteness of Syros reflect in his work, which is both emotional and cerebral.
Whilst at Goldsmiths David’s work explored images, which juxtaposed text with reworked photographic self-portraits. This play with the written word and visual imagery was a desire to combine different ways of knowing. Whilst David was conscious of the rich variety of languages his contemporaries were using he was always interested in identifying his own unique “take” on the world around him. This led to David being fascinated by the ideological and emotional implications of the relationship between artist and life model. In the past it was typical of his approach that the naked model is reproduced by a sparce and ambiguous portrait of her face. The body becomes the face, the face becomes the body. In a way these contradictions says more about the anxiety and charge of the situation than a conventional image ever would.
These concerns translate into his current work, which at face value explore an abstract world. However that duality still exists. The latest “Ghost/Geist” series uses a formal language to unlock emotion. Each picture is divided into two parts. On the left we see solid colour and on the right a ghostly monoprint.Hawkins himself sees the relationship between what is painted and the monoprint as gestural and aggressive because it reveals the process of painting that made the imprinted image. However I see something else; there is a much more complex interrelationship going on in the work. David’s decision to use a formal grid system to contain the gestural blocks of colour opens up many possibilities. At once there is a dialogue between this geometric structure and both the intuitive choice of colour combined with the gestural application of the oil pastels. Sometimes the movement is contained within the square/oblong shape other times it appears to move over and under the white grid of exposed paper. The ethereal imprint on the right side of the paper contrasts this physicality. The simple technique of folding the paper and creating a monoprint produces a rich dialogue of emotion and meanings the paper is used in two ways. In one half it is a vehicle for pigment to rest on, in the other half, like watercolour, the papers allowed to glow through the colour giving it a translucent life. There is almost a sense of image and after image, an “inner” and “outer” reality Conjuring up that sense of knowing when one is awake and that sense of experiencing when asleep. The choice of colour and range of colour establishes many different moods; that of early morning, midday, afternoon, evening night, that different seems of seasons. David’s work is deceptive, at first glance it seems one understands it quickly but it is much more complex and rewards repeated viewing.
TERRY NEW 2011