Chris Hawtin, The Metics: Exhibition Vlog and Interview

no format Gallery are pleased to present The Metics, a solo exhibition by Chris Hawtin.

This exhibition brings together a selection of Chris Hawtin’s work from the last five years, most of which have never been exhibited in London before.

Metics were a class of inhabitant of an ancient Greek city state, who were born outside of the city, either in a different city state or another country, who were allowed to reside in the city without being full citizens. They were indistinguishable from citizens except that they could not take part in the political decisions of the city.

The Metics in this exhibition are the eight human scale models which form the centre piece of the show. These characters appear in Hawtin’s paintings in small ‘cameo’ roles within the landscapes. They are allowed to stay in the paintings but have no apparent agency over the events taking place within them. This will be the first occasion when all eight characters have been exhibited together. Made up of the constituent parts of the paintings; canvas, paint and wood, and of toy parts and model kits they appear as part comedic puppets, part horror film props, arranged in a circle around a compass-like symbol as if taking part in some mysterious ritual reminiscent of the Skeksis in the Dark Crystal (1982). Each is accompanied by their respective narrative fragment, which together suggest an overall story arc of a time after some unnamed societal collapse, with each character trapped in their own form of alienation.

These characters are exhibited alongside a selection of Hawtin’s paintings, and the viewer is left creating their own narrative around the figures and their relationship to the invading techno-organic forms floating above the landscapes; do any of these characters have control over these forms? Are they the cause of their own alienation or are they really the ‘metics’ of the title, helpless subjects a failing machine?

The Gallery will be open 12-6pm Friday to Sunday until 27th May or by appointment on 07814 831 337

===============================

Chris Hawtin creates narratives that do not follow conventional sequences of events; his work is reminiscent of a post apocalyptic scenery inhabited by science fictional machines; hybrids constructed or grown from organic and mechanical parts. Their personalities interact with the various characters that they share their habitat with. The characters/beings appear in different landscapes in different works to create and recreate personal stories that interact with each other dependent on the viewers interpretation. Hawtin uses computerised imagery and sometimes sound waves as his starting point, woven with painting and sculptural processes he ‘wraps and re wraps’ creating hybrid worlds of ‘in-between’ states.

Original text taken from http://www.chrishawtin.com/
Some still photos as referenced in video, courtesy of Warren King Photography: http://www.wkphotography.co.uk/