1 March – 31 May 2004
Artist, Gordon Cheung, a graduate of MA Fine Art Painting at the Royal College of Art, is particularly interested in the notion of an artificial reality that becomes ever more dense depending on how metropolitan an environment is. Gordon is particularly interested in the way that the modern world has increasingly demanded that we are ‘hard-wired’ with devices like telephone systems, personal computer modems and interactive TV. He has concluded that these technologies have caused conventional relations to distances, positions, time and space to be reconfigured. Imagery from graphics in posters and flyers, accelerated travel and billboards are all part of an intricate web of artificiality that alters our sense of reality, which form a new landscape. To explore these ideas in his work, Gordon uses the stock share listings from the Financial Times as a direct metaphor, creating new and imaginary landscapes. Using torn up pages of the Financial Times to depict an image he is interested in, Gordon is fascinated by the way in which it reverts to its abstract components on closer inspection.
“ 3 months of complete dedicated focus in great facilities has accelerated the development of my work enabling me to create a body of work in a relatively short period of time. Also rummaging through the Centre’s Chinese art library has unearthed a number of ideas and triggered new directions for the work to move forward to. Furthermore meeting other artists in Manchester has been particularly interesting, sparking dialogue and insight into their work. All of these experiences I feel will contribute to the development of my work as ideas and inspiration take shape long after the residency is completed.”
