Fractures of the Lens

About

Artists' statement: The artists' differing cultural and artistic backgrounds engender different approaches - while the monotypes of Hodgkinson explore layering of visual information and a searching for truth, Granova’s manner of painting combines a moment of objective history contained in enlarged vintage photographs with the physicality of painterly gestures and her own corporeal presence. Both artists are emotionally affected by current politics and address this directly or indirectly in their work.

Statement by curator Alexandra Steinacker-Clark, art historian and founder of the All About Art Podcast:  Granova’s works explore the issues of perspective and how it can shape individual and collective memories. Using objects such as photographs of strangers found at flea markets, she approaches painting as a form of speculative archaeology, distorting the subject matter through her painted perspectives. Her practice is connected to the desire to capture a historical moment that has only survived through photographic documentation, which emanates from Granova’s own historical past. Through her upbringing in the ruins of Soviet cultural narratives, and how these experiences underpin collective memories of political structures, Granova has come to believe that any history functions to serve an ideology. Taking control of history by acquiring an image, and then interpreting it herself, Granova distorts the vague found histories and forms them to her own reality.

Hodgkinson uses the dichotomies of chance and control in his monoprinting process, allowing for spontaneity in a carefully pre-planned approach to making. A second layer to his work, furthering the concepts brought via the medium, aligns to historical distortions and theories of ‘post-truth’. Politics and histories influenced by the ‘post-truth’ era have struggled to contain validity, with the rise of social media and fake news infiltrating our society. Hodgkinson explores creative expression and truth of emotion through his work as a means to counteract the shrouded illusions of post-truth perspectives. The ability of art to educate, empower, and create empathy opposes the negative impact of the wide circulation of ambivalent information, as if one were viewing society through a broken lens. Hodgkinson encourages critical thinking and outspoken dialogue instead of deceit and the misrepresentation of truth.

Fracture of the Lens ties the respective practices of Granova and Hodgkinson together through themes of distorted histories, politics, and memories. The works in this exhibition investigate how singular perspectives can influence collective beliefs, as well as how post-truth and fake news permeates our everyday life. Urging critical thought and self-reflection is how both artists create a space of exploration and engagement, not only with art, but also truth, whatever that may be.