A. M. Hanson
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A.M.Hanson (Alexander Mark Hanson). UK, born: 1969. Photographer (art photography / documentary photography) and artist (photo-related mixed media).
His pictures usually form short or long term series made over an extended period of time. Subject matter ranges from urban situations and events, and the people, locations and details within them, particularly London, to ever changing environments and the natural world state. Photographic themes are also based around personal encounters, alongside photo stories and documentations. His work has appeared in international art galleries, project spaces, art books, magazines and under the imprint simonsplaypeneditions.
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[edit] early life
Born, adopted and raised in the Yorkshire countryside, in the north-east of England. Early `creative trips` to his mother's Leeds pottery studio, holidays with the `cheap n' colourful` Court Line (early 1970s) and an elderly neighbour (Hettie Lonsdale)'s love of art, are cited as early visual influences. Hanson moved from home at age 17, holding happenings in the basement of a shared house in the Harehills area of Leeds. Around the same time he won a place with the National Youth Theatre. At age 18 his first work was exhibited at Leeds City Art Gallery (video/photo-montages: Bridge with Swimming Pool), he also performed in several public productions at Leeds University Workshop Theatre. He dropped out of the formal education system (after a stint studying fine art and drama at schools and colleges in Leeds and York - mid/late 1980s) and moved to London at the age of 19, in January 1989. Early work includes Pan Euro, a photo journey through Europe to Italy in 1989 and `Berlin 1989` folio (including the work Landscape in Serial Shadow), documenting the collapse of the Berlin Wall later that year.
[edit] 1990's work
First published work appeared in magazines such as i-D (Jan. 1991) and other scene and music periodicals in the early to mid 1990s, sometimes with the tag Alex Sparks. A series New Disco Portraits (1993-95 / photographs, 35mm projections, unique and edition picture books), made mainly with disposable cameras shows youth culture looks, performers and party goers in London's clubland. Includes an early image of designer Alexander McQueen on the verge of fame, alongside other characters, at a time when London was witnessing the so-called Brit Art and Pop explosion. (Stories from the Night and The Monsters and Angels of London are current related projects). He made film stills and appeared in the award winning brit-flick short A Smashing Night Out (dir: Matthew Glamorre / 1994 BBC 10 x 10 series).
He was the only photographer to record performance artist Leigh Bowery's legendary last show at the Freedom Cafe, London in November 1994. Some of the work was shown at The Fine Art Society, London in 1995. The images later appeared in the monograph Leigh Bowery (Violette Editions / 1998), prompting publisher Robert Violette to say that they `represented a crucial, defining moment of the 1990s`.
The mid to late '90s sees A.M.Hanson exploring new urban based and nature related subject matter which gradually form larger scale series. He also produced various editorial, advertising, other documentary work, alongside art or concept photography work during the nineties and onwards. Work from this period was displayed in shops, bars, pubs and project spaces mainly throughout London's Soho and Shoreditch districts.
An audio/visual book We Love You (Booth Clibborn 1998) shows Hanson's photography work alongside that of more established art world figures such as Gilbert & George, Marc Quinn and Tracey Emin (credit appears as Alex Mark Hanson called Simon in this and several other publications).
In 1999 he showed new photo-related drawings and other work on paper (at Vexed Generation, London) for the first time. Aerial No.2 (Simon's Playpen) a `maximalistic` presentation of wayward route maps, atoll groups and structured landscape drawings, together with associated photographic material. Some of these works were later printed and evoked as `island paper hats` and worn by, and filmed and photographed on, a variety of people around town. This marked a fresh direction in thematic concepts.
[edit] 2000's work
A.M. Hanson evolves `photo-concept characters` such as Susan Tripod or Country Tramp. They are semi-alter ego or hybrid photo-personalities derived from memory, day to day realities and fantasy and presented in a range of guises and formats. They provide a thematic umbrella under which a variety of work is made and shown. Photo stories, series and individual imagery tell the story of contemporary life, encounters and concepts. Mixed media `wall pieces`, photo-installation, site specific work and recorded text and songs (such as Rebel Against Thing) also form a part of Hanson's output, sometimes appearing under the banner alexcalledsimon projects (2000 / ongoing), often with collaborators (such as The Offset and The Paper People).
In 2001 Hanson began a series of photo works made at English seaside locations (Ghost Train Interiors and The Penny Drops - Plastic Things), and at fairs, fetes and festivals. This work creates and records imagery against a backdrop that is constantly changing placed in today's multi-ethnic society. It is a celebration of this evolution of traditions.
Archival work was shown in the large group show QueerNation (Elms Lesters Painting Rooms, London, 2002), a retrospective of 20th century polysexual London nightlife. This includes his semi-iconic portrait of scene star Sheila Tequila, Pink Sheila made in the heat of the moment.
In Spring 2002 he responded to the events of 9/11 with a folio of photographs (Sunburst over Liberty Island) and charcoal text drawings (Empire State Always Future) made in New York City. An eco-art series Missy Island Goes Home was made in the Greek islands during 2004. Hanson often uses an island map impression as a motif, sometimes with the tag Alexisland.
A.M.Hanson also documents other contemporaries at work and play, those who work he admires, such as the Turner Prize winning Wolfgang Tillmans, for example (in 2003), created early and more recent pictures of singer Patrick Wolf, and photo stories of performer David Hoyle in 2007, and many others.
More recent photography series have seen development of new thematic and story rooted photography and mixed media work, being shown in galleries and project spaces mainly in London and sometimes further afield; Berlin, Milan, Barcelona and Tokyo (2002 - 2007 onwards).
Selected work from his series English Wisteria appeared in 24London (2006), a European touring group show promoting the British capital (previewed at the Hayward Gallery, London). His photograph of Prince William (Black Prince, White Prince (William)), from this story, evolves to form part of a new series of mono-print portraits.
Hanson's imprint simonsplaypeneditions (ongoing) produces printed matter based around specific stories and projects.
Work is shown at The Photographer's Gallery, London in a group photo project (Nov 2007 - Jan 2008).
