For me, painting is a kind of thinking tool. Painting shapes consciousness; there is nothing else like it for developing and forming ideas. Our culture is full of sources advising us ‘what’ to think, but explores, far less ‘how’ to think. I believe that painting, both creating and observing, can teach us many things about how we think and live.
My paintings are often populated by post-human beings called ‘stooges’. These characters are often in some sort of predicament: clinging to precarious platforms, being attacked by floating blobs, or attempting to escape their canvases. I hope that viewers ‘watch’ the paintings, as if they move when their heads are turned…
My interests in retro computing, communication theory and technology provoke much of the imagery. The atmosphere the work creates is often a little anxious or perilous. For me, these are the predominant states cultivated in western culture; by our governments, mainstream media and online environments. I am attempting to create images that are responsive and critical of this culture – whilst not drifting towards cynicism.
I have also worked with arts organisations, museums and galleries on projects involving education, development and participation. These projects provide opportunities to see how ideas ‘plug in’ to broader social groups and consistently prove people’s receptiveness to art, and the positive role that creativity plays in everyday life.
I am also involved in collaborative projects with other artists, and am a founding member of Feral Art School – a pioneering alternative art school, based in Hull.
As well as this, I am a trustee and UK representative for the Institute of General Semantics a New York based educational organisation, founded in 1933, to promote the understanding of human behavior as related to symbol systems and language.
Dom Heffer 