Andrew Pierre Hart on the freedom to create
By Jessica-Belle Greer
Influential visual artist and electronic music producer Andrew Pierre Hart explores connections between sound and painting.
His work has been shown at leading institutions including the Whitechapel Gallery, where he was commissioned to create Bio-Data Flows and Other Rhythms – A Local Story. This ambient world comprised a site-specific mural, a bamboo sculpture, six oil paintings, a sound composition and a film captured in the streets surrounding the gallery.
Hart shares his vision for his work and the wider creative community – and, we listen up.
What inspired you to pursue a career in the arts?
Honestly, seeing work in exhibitions and the classic cliche of ‘I can do that’. I had developed a music career and a record label in the mid-90s, creating underground music. Via this exploration I met with a group of creatives who liked my way of doing things. It was a very inspirational and active group who were purveyors of a scene per-se.
One of the group members was the painter Chris Ofili. He gave me an understanding that one was able to study art as a degree. I returned to education as a mature, self-taught artist. I studied undergraduate Fine Arts at Chelsea College of Art from 2014-17 and took the Master’s degree at the Royal College of Art in Painting from 2017-19.
How did you become involved with Whitechapel Gallery?
I was commissioned by ICF (International Curators Forum) to create Block 336, an arts space in Brixton. Gilane Tawadros, the director at Whitechapel Gallery, was very much into the work and commissioned me to make works for Gallery 7. Gilane gave me carte blanche and carte noir with no stipulation – I was completely free to do anything.
Gilane is a very erudite and established figure in the movement of the arts. Her vision of balance, diversity, and a strong outlook with a 360-vision is very inspiring.
How does Whitechapel Gallery engage with the local community and foster a sense of inclusion and participation in the arts?
Parts of Whitechapel Gallery were formerly a library, and there was an emphasis on a space for all. The gallery works with local artists, youth and universities to build relationships and offer spaces, workshops, and initiatives that reach out and connect to the local community.
What are your thoughts on the future of contemporary art?
Art will always survive. I hope it behaves less, becomes more radical and fills some of the stop gaps that other structures cannot fill. There is a lot more to art than what we see on the walls.
As we sit, there will be a group of artists discussing world-changing initiatives and affecting change, creating shifts for the future of the arts, or how art can be part of a catalyst for positive change in the world – even if it is placard-designing workshops or eco-based ideas around sustainable practice. With the onslaught of technology and social media, the local and the global are slowly becoming the same.
Tell us about your mural, Rhythms of a Towered Hamlet.
The mural in the exhibition takes up the same space and energy as the large-scale murals you see around the Whitechapel area. It has a multitude of conceptual layers, from the decorative form of Gurunsi architecture in West Africa to DNA, digital coding and a plethora of other ideas. The mural is now embedded in the history of Whitechapel. It will be painted over, but it will be there still – and I like this as a layer in the history of Whitechapel Gallery.
How does the gallery support emerging artists?
In my situation, being commissioned as an emerging artist and working with an install team and a wider team that constitutes a public gallery helped me realise my vision but also taught me a lot about how a large institution works and operates. Whitechapel also has an MA programme, where they support current students who are interested in aspects of the gallery such as curation. The gallery also has an artist-in-residence programme that supports an artist for a year with intermittent showcases of work. A lot goes on behind the scenes.
What advice would you give those looking to make a meaningful impact in the art world?
Do your thing. Whatever you are doing will align with like-minded thinkers and offer something to people who may not have engaged with or considered your perspective. The other thing I would say is that it is hard; it takes time. Remember when you were happily making just to make. Keep that feeling in your work and practice. Always have somebody you can ask for advice. It is a constant place of learning, and the more experienced have more knowledge of how things work. In that, you can find ways to challenge, shift, change or play with. Ultimately, it is an ongoing learning curve out there in the real world, and it’s good to have someone that can help. I still have a few artists and even galleries that I can ask for advice.
The full version of this interview appears in Volume 3 of Neighbourhood Edit: From Aldgate to Athens.