How did you get into making art?
The only thing I have ever truly been interested in is making and creating, so it’s no surprise I left school at 17 with just a single GCSE in Art. For a long time, I balanced non-art jobs while drawing, sewing, and painting whenever I could. Getting a job at an arts and crafts centre was a turning point, as it introduced me to ceramics and traditional painting techniques. After seven years of self-taught practice, I applied for an Art Foundation Course and, from there, went on to study for a BA and then, many years later, an MA.
What are you currently working on?
Over the past few months, I have been developing a body of work for a solo exhibition which opens on 26th March at Belenius Gallery in Stockholm; this will include both sculptural works and paintings. Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Stalker has been a major influence on this new collection. The cinematography, the emphasis on the ‘object as signifier,’ and the themes of looping and the loss of time resonate deeply with my practice. Alongside this, I have created a new sculpture for a group show with OHSH Projects in London, opening 27th February.
The impetus for the body of work I presented for the Hopper Prize came from an intense search for materials.
Jo Dennis
What inspired you to get started on this body of work?
The impetus for the body of work I presented for the Hopper Prize came from an intense search for materials. I had been collecting fabrics, junk from the street and items from flea markets because I was searching for a way to express the potency of the obsolete – I had the idea that there was a link to be made with nostalgia and mortality. I wanted to take something which had been discarded and deemed past its use and transform it with care, attention, and reverence. This body of work uses military surplus tent fabrics which I found on eBay, I had to unfold, soak, scrub and cut them before I could start to paint on them. They give so much, both materially and conceptually, the sewn elements inherent in the tents have an immediate associative value.
Do you work on distinct projects or do you take a broader approach to your practice?
My work over the past 11 years has been a continued exploration of the psychological potential of materials and the visual language of the built environment, so, its an ongoing inquiry into how things are constructed and fall apart, and how this links metaphorically to human existence. Groupings of work happen organically in the studio as I lean into different concepts. These shifts aren’t projects in the traditional sense; they are moments where the work arrives at a new point of intensity—coalescing into specific motifs, colour palettes, or structural repetitions that define a particular body of work.
What’s a typical day like in your studio?
There is no typical day in my studio. I am very responsive to both internal and external factors. Some days I arrive at 10am, look at the work, and then spring into action—painting for hours before stopping to see what has occurred. Other days, I might spend the entire time sitting and observing the paintings and writing. Often I am arranging, rearranging and cutting huge tent canvases across the floor. I also have a separate home studio where I weld and fabricate the steel elements for the sculptures.
Who are your favorite artists?
Phyllida Barlow, Louise Bourgeois, Alberto Burri, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Robert Rauschenberg, Lee Bontecou, Susan Hiller, and Eva Hesse have all inspired me in one way or another.
Where do you go to discover new artists?
I visit lots of London galleries, the established and the very young. There is always something to see in the city. When I visit different countries for my own exhibitions I always make sure to go to local galleries and museums.
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