Time to Pretend: Drawings and Video by David Hancock March 3, 2011

3 - 25 March 2011
Private View: - Thursday 3 March 6-8pm

David will also be delivering a guest lecture on 10 March at 12.30pm Allerton Studios.

David Hancock focuses on forms of escapism, whether through youth subcultures, the fantasy worlds of computer games or by directly referencing historical utopian visions. His work is rooted in the tradition of Romanticism. The signifiers are taken from historical works of art, sources and themes. These are suggested through the appropriation of composition, gestures or objects.

In his solo exhibition at Hub Hancock will present a new series of drawings that attempt to mix reality with fantasy. In the Gamer portraits, each individual is linked to their digital environment via the umbilical cord of their controller. Their immersion into this alternate reality plays across their faces as they become disassociated from reality, engaged in the fantasy. In the portraits of the Cosplayers, there is clear relationship between their personality and the fictional character they represent. These portraits are intentionally real, produced in pencil crayon in a photorealistic style; they not only give a true portrayal of the Cosplayer but also highlight the details within their outfits. They have not been glamorised and their own artistic flourishes in the construction of the outfit has been highlighted.

In these portraits Hancock has attempted to give an insight into the personality of the Cosplayer and particularly how they choose to represent their character. In essence he is representing two personalities simultaneously in an almost schizophrenic relationship. These works are essentially double portraits which accentuate the character beyond their current medium.

David Hancock is currently undertaking a PhD at University of Salford. He is currently exhibiting in the Marmite Painting Prize III where he is one of the shortlisted artists. Hancock has exhibited extensively both Nationally and Internationally. He was included in the John Moores 21 and The BP Portrait Prize.

Official Website: http://www.salford.ac.uk/events/details/1440