MIRRORS - PIP DICKENS : Solo exhibition supported by Arts Council England and Lancaster University
- Submitting institution
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The University of Lancaster
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- 237316325
- Type
- M - Exhibition
- Venue(s)
- Lancaster
- Open access status
- -
- Month of first exhibition
- November
- Year of first exhibition
- 2017
- URL
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https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/88623/1/MIRRORSPDICKENSWEB.pdf
- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
- -
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
-
2
- Research group(s)
-
-
- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- MIRRORS was a solo exhibition by Pip Dickens of 25 paintings and research material in vitrine displays. A 20-page catalogue (ISBN 978-1-86220-340-2) included an essay by Kevin O’Brien, an artist statement and a foreword by Renee Pfister (Renee Pfister Art and Gallery Consultancy, London). The exhibition was presented at the Storey Gallery, Lancaster in November 2017, funded by Arts Council England (£4,530) and Lancaster University (£917). Images of the paintings continue to be available on the artists’ website and in the downloadable PDF of the catalogue.
The series of paintings (oil on canvas and oil on paper) explored the possibilities of encountering dualities of the virtual and the real as well as the formal and the poetic, through the mirror motif. Located within the arena of contemporary portrait studies, the works reflect the capacity of the de-formalised self-portraiture of the mobile phone to offer little context for the viewer. The mirror, like the mobile phone screen, is a portal to climb through to explore other places and peoples’ lives and a key device for framing only what the artists wants the viewer to see, in painting, film and literature. The historical precedents of Velasquez, Manet and Ross Bleckner are evident in the colour palette, paint handling and surface treatment of these works, with Dicken’s particular combination of representation and spatial construction demonstrating an imaginative response to the motif.
The works comprise five sets of paintings resulting from a year of research and studio experimentation that systematically explored relationships between the physical and psychological aspects of mirrors, selfies and self-perception. Three works depict mid-20th Century domestic mirrors and four present more devised images exploring reflectivity. The remaining works include the series titled Dreaming Girl (1 to 7), Portrait (1 to 3), and other titles suggesting a cast of other characters.
- Author contribution statement
- -
- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
- -