Iain Hetherington, Diversified Cultural Worker 6, 2008. Oil on canvas. Courtesy the artist and Mary Mary, Glasgow.
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Diversified Cultural Workers: the Cut talk to Ian Hetherington
Date: 18 September 2008
The Cut track down Nought to Sixty artist Ian Hetherington to find out more about his paintings of 'diversified cultural workers'.
Team Cut
The Cut was mystified by Ian Hetherington's paintings, recently exhibited as part of Nought To Sixty. We tracked him down to find out more about what was behind the baseball caps and smeary colourful paintings.
So, what inspires you to do the painting you do?
I guess I'm inspired to the paintings I do by other paintings and art from the past. I try and make something I think is relevant to art now, but with a pool of historical resources to use and make reference to. Elements in the paintings are there because I have felt it necessary to make use of them for the work at a particular time rather than because I 'like' them as such.
Whats was your favourite bit of work in your show?
When I work on the paintings I see the context that each one gives to the others as important so I'm not sure if I have a favourite, they need each other in order to make sense.
Tell us about what some of the titles mean?
The title 'Diversified Cultural Workers' which covers the whole body of work is just a name for the notional characters in the portraits. I see these diversified cultural workers as farcical characters, people so obsessed with market-researched notions of 'difference' that they pose in hip-hop garb or as chav/ned characters. The idea of the paintings being painted in the intuitive way they are is that this process is far removed from the tick-the-box, efficiency-driven notions of audience access driven cultural policy. Art's value cannot be put down to a numbers game or value for money considerations.
The 'composite portraits' were a reference to the Victorian statistician Sir Francis Galton. I thought he was a relevant reference in my work because he invented composite photography, where he superimposed eg. criminals' features one on top of each other in order to try and find features common to criminals. I thought this ludicrous project fitted well with what I was trying to say.
Where is 'your creative space?' ie- studio, laptop, the bus, the street?
I work in a studio and, I guess, the library. I also use the net.
Recommend a Friend: Your fave creative website right now?
Why not look at Gregor Wright's website, or Will Duke's videos?
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