John OHare
Profile/CV
My practice is grounded in themes of appropriation; of particular concern is the recovery of rejected materials and their reaffirmation via a transformation to the status of art object. I am interested in themes of decay, exploring this by working with subject matter that suggests obsolescence.
My working method contrasts a hands-on, process-orientated notion of art with the media, technology and social strata of today. The act of painting is transferred from the canvas into new digital media and new environments. Colour plays a central role, creating visual contrasts that blur the real and the artificial requiring a suspension of disbelief from the viewer.
In my site-specific work I choose locations that are either peripheral and overlooked or derelict and abandoned: Ultimately this approach aims to engender a process of artistic alchemy that proposes art and culture as a challenge to age-old ideologies of progress (that has led to the continual production of surplus stuff), whilst celebrating an independence of expression.
Website www.johnohare.org.uk
