Artist Profile
Michael Hawksworth
Michael Hawksworth is an artist, arts educator, writer and D.J. who lives and works in Hawkes Bay.
"I was born in Wellington in 1966 and grew up on the Kapiti Coast. I studied Art History and English Literature at Victoria University, with a special interest in creative writing.
In 1995 I gained a diploma in Visual Art from Hawkes Bay Polytechnic. In 2003 I gained a Master Degree in Fine Arts from Auckland University’s Elam School of Arts.
I have taught elements of visual art, particularly drawing, painting and research, at EIT since the late 90’s. Alongside this I have maintained a consistent practice of art-making in a number of different media and disciplines including collage, text, spoken word, drawing and painting. I have also produced design and illustration work for music projects. I exhibit regularly within Hawkes Bay and sometimes further afield within New Zealand.
I am also active in other areas of the local arts scene. I am a reviewer for the online publication The Hook. Also I am a DJ, currently with a residency at Hastings bar The Common Room."
'Fossils: 01' (2015)
Artist: Michael Hawksworth
Description: [Archival Inkjet]
The two works I’m exhibiting here are from a solo show called hard SF (2015) that particularly piqued Roy’s interest. Much of the work’s haunted sci fi aesthetics were influenced by the sound of ‘80’s/90’s Detroit techno music which had emerged from the impoverished and abandoned urban centre of the once great car-manufacturing city.
Roy found this absolutely fascinating and asked me to burn him some CDs of the music. I did, and he loved the hard-edged electronic sound. In return he wrote me an insightful profile on my work. Every artist, every place, needs a Roy.
Connection to Roy: All artists crave real, unfeigned curiosity about their work, so if I had a work in a group show, and I could see Roy somewhere in the crowd at the opening, I’d sidle up to him, hopefully.
He always seemed to have already had a good look at your work, and he’d enthusiastically ask you questions about it. Not only that but he’d already have some angle on it, some way of looking at it that hadn’t occurred to you.
When I first started exhibiting, he was so supportive. He had a way of reassuring you that you had something to say, and that your work fascinated him somehow; it was gold.
Size / dimentions: 450mm x 700mm
Media Type: Design
