David Hancock
2012
Description
David Hancock’s work attempts to make palpable the psychological gap between the world that we physically experience and the psychological states through which it is apprehended. Though his use of watercolour on paper, he presents escapist fantasies, whether through youth subcultures, the fantasy worlds of computer games or by directly referencing historical utopian visions. Hancock’s new series depict the phenomenon of Ball Jointed Dolls (BJDs) and the subculture that has sprung up around these elaborate dolls produced in East Asia. Hancock creates a series of characters representing facets of youth culture. After an extensive study in Cosplay, Hancock chose a framework similar to those employed by popular Manga franchises (multiple characters with a recognisable connection) Hancock's characters embody elements from the periodic table. Painting from life, he brings these dolls to life in a contemporary re-staging of the Pygmalion myth.

Biography

David Hancock graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 1996 and has been exhibiting widely since. He has appeared in a number of prominent exhibitions such as the John Moores 21, Young Masters and the BP Portrait Prize. He has had solo and group shows across the UK and Europe as well as New York, Los Angeles, Shanghai and Hong Kong. He recently completed a PhD at University of Salford. David's recent solo exhibitions include Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Touchstones, Rochdale, and 20-21 Visual Arts Centre in Scunthorpe. In 2015 he will have solo exhibitions at Ruskin Gallery, Cambridge and Howden Park, Livingston.
Fields
Fine Arts
  • Antimony (Bedroom)
    Watercolour on Paper
    56 x 76cm
    2015
    £2000
    Click to purchase this work via Paypal
  • Hydrogen (Wool Against Weapons)
    Watercolour on Paper
    28.5 x 25cm
    2015
    £600 (unframed)
    Click to purchase this work via Paypal
  • Antimony (Pentagram)
    Watercolour on Paper
    28.5 x 25cm
    2015
    £600 (framed)
    Click to purchase this work via Paypal
  • Antimony (Selfie)
    Aquatint Etching on Fabriano Paper
    29 x 21cm (Plate size)
    2015, 
    Edition of 12
    £150
    Click to purchase this work via Paypal
  • Galatea (Lolita)
    Watercolour on Paper
    29 x 42cm
    2015
    £400
    Click to purchase this work via Paypal
  • Badger (Into the Trees)
    Watercolour on Paper
    21 x 29cm
    2015
    £350 (framed)
    Click to purchase this work via Paypal
  • Badger (Facing West)
    Watercolour on Paper
    21 x 29cm
    2015
    £300
    Click to purchase this work via Paypal
  • Badger (Facing South)
    Watercolour on Paper
    21 x 29cm
    2015
    £300
    Click to purchase this work via Paypal
  • Rikku (Fay)
    Watercolour on Paper
    29 x 21cm
    2014
    £300

    Click to purchase this work via Paypal
  • Advent Children III
    Watercolour on Paper
    21 x 29cm
    2013
    £350 (framed)

    Click to purchase this work via Paypal
  • Nelliel (Linda)
    Watercolour on Paper
    6 x 9cm
    2013

    £150 (framed)
    Click to purchase this work via Paypal
  • Badger: The Origin
    Artist made book
    21 x 29 cm
    14 pages (b&w + 1 colour plate)
    Edition of 25
    2014
    £30 (including p&p) 
    Click to purchase this work via Paypal
  • Cosplay
    Laser copied artist book
    28 pages
    21 x 15cm
    Edition of 50 (each one numbered and signed)
    £6 (inc. p&p)
    Click to purchase this work via Paypal
  • Installation Views
  • Installation View: Touchstones, Rochdae, 2013
  • Installation View: Touchstones, Rochdae, 2013
  • Installation View: Touchstones, Rochdae, 2013
  • Installation View: 20-21, Scunthorpe, 2014
  • Installation View: 20-21, Scunthorpe, 2014
  • Installation View: Wolverhampton Art Gallery, 2013 photo: Paul Ward
  • Installation View: Wolverhampton Art Gallery, 2013 photo: Paul Ward
  • David Hancock CV
    Born, lives and works in Manchester, UK.  Co-founder and director of PAPER gallery.

    Education:
    2010-14 - Graduate Teaching Assistantship with PhD, University of Salford
    2008-10 - Master of Fine Art, Liverpool John Moores University
    1993-96 - BA (Hons) Fine Art, Manchester Metropolitan University

    Selected Solo Exhibitions:
    2015 - ‘Cosplay’, Ruskin Gallery, Cambridge
    2015 - ‘Cosplay’, Howarth Art Centre, Livingston
    2014 - ‘Cosplay’, 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe
    2013 - ‘Cosplay’, Wolverhampton Art Gallery
               ‘Cosplay, Touchstones, Rochdale
    2011 - ‘Time to Pretend’, Hub, Manchester
    2010 - ‘Game’, 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe
    2008 - ‘That’s Not My Name’, The Agency, London
    2007 - ‘How Can Someone so Young Sing Words So Sad’, Transit, Mechelen, Belgium
    2006 - ‘Who Will Eat my Sadness’, The Agency, London
    2005 - ‘The Beautiful People’, The City Gallery, Leicester
    2004 - ‘Jane Says…’, Cooper Gallery, Barnsley
    2003 - ‘The Beautiful People’, Comme Ca Gallery, New York, USA
               ‘The Beautiful People’, Kirkby Gallery, Kirkby Liverpool
                ‘The Beautiful People’, The Storey Gallery, Lancaster
    2002 - ‘The Beautiful People’, DDM Warehouse, Shanghai, China
                ‘The Beautiful People’, Dean Clough Galleries, Halifax
    2001 - ‘The Beautiful People’, View 2 Gallery, Liverpool
                ‘The Beautiful People’, Chorlton Mill Gallery, Manchester
    2000 - ‘The Beautiful People’, Cartwright Hall, Bradford
               ‘The Horrible People’, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
    1998 - ‘The Beautiful People’, Pannett Art Gallery, Whitby
    1997 - ‘Princess Leia was my first Kiss’, Phillips Contemporary Art, Manchester

    Selected Group Exhibitions:
    2016 - 'Semiotic Guerrilla Warfare' pt III, Dean Clough Galleries, Halifax
    2015 - 'P', Horatio Junior, London
               'Semiotic Guerrilla Warfare' pt I, PAPER, Manchester
    2014 - 'A Union of Voice", Horatio Junior, London
                ‘Snow in Summer’, Peek-a-boo Gallery, Perth, Australia
                ‘Manchester Connexions’, The New School House Gallery, York
                ‘ID’, Hanmi Gallery, London
                ‘Far Lands’, Millenium Galleries, Sheffield
                ‘Human Clay Revisited’, The Ropewalk, Barton upon Humber
    2012 - ‘Polemically Small’, Orleans House Musem, London
    2011 - ‘Polemically Small’, Charlie Smith, London
                ‘In Safekeeping’, The New Schoolhouse Gallery, York
                ‘Future Can’t Wait’, Torrance Art Museum, California
                ‘Citizen’, TactileBosch, Cardiff
                 Marmite Painting Prize III, Lanchester Gallery, Coventry & The Nunnery, London
    2010 - Marmite Painting Prize III, Central Gallery, Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester
               ‘This is England’, The Aubin Gallery, London & Galleria Uno+Uno, Milan, Italy
                Anti Design Festival, London/Newcastle Space, London
                ‘Salon 8’, Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong 
    2009 - ‘The Lure & The Seducer’, Galleri Christoffer Egelund, Copenhagen, Denmark
                ‘Connexions’, Galerie Wolfsen, Aalborg, Denmark
                ‘Karma-1’, Gallery 44a, Istanbul, Turkey
    2008 - ‘The Future Can Wait II’ (curated by Ellis & Rumley) Truman’s Brewery, London
                ‘Kapellmeister pulls a Doozy’, Seven Seven Gallery, London
                ‘The Past is History’(curated by Ellis & Rumley) Changing Role, Naples & Rome, Italy
                 ‘The New London School’(curated by Ellis, Rumley & Max Presneil), Mark Moore, LA, USA
    2007 - ‘Teenage Kicks’(curated by Melanie Moreau), Vegas Gallery, London
                ‘The Future Can Wait’, (curated by Ellis & Rumley) Truman’s Brewery, London
    2006 - ‘I-POD Killed the Video Star’(curated by Ken Pratt), Showroomama, Rotterdam, Netherlands
               ‘I Ain’t No Yesterday’s News’, Gallery Likovni Krug , Exitfest, Serbia & Tour
    2005 - ‘Portreto Formate’, ARKA Gallery, Vilnius, Lithuania & Tour
               ‘Children of the Grave- Masters of Reality’ (with Ross Sinclair), The Agency London
               ‘Young Masters’, (curated by Flora Fairburn), Art Fortnight London
               ‘Hand in Hand we Walk Alone’, Clapham Art Gallery
    2004 - ‘Forever Beautiful’, Clapham Art Gallery, London
    2003 - ‘Thermo 03’ The Lowry, Manchester
    2002 - ‘A Word from our Sponsors’, Liverpool Biennial Independents 02
               ‘Perverse Pop’, Catto Contemporary, London
               ‘The Battle for Realism’, (curated by James Hyman) Inside Space, Selfridges, London

    2001 - BP Portrait Award 2001, National Portrait Gallery, London
    2000 - ‘Inferno’, LMN Project, Guildhall, Newcastle
                BP Portrait Award 2000, National Portrait Gallery, London
    1999 - John Moores 21, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

    1996 - ‘Northern Graduates’, Royal College of Art, London

    Self-curated Group Shows:
    2012 - ‘Digital Romantics’, Dean Clough, Halifax & Aubin Gallery, London
    2007 - ‘Fantasising Fairies’, 501 Art Space, Chongqing
               ‘Faith’, Dean Clough, Halifax & Gallery Primo Alonso
    2006 - ‘I’ll Be Your Mirror’, Liverpool Biennial Independents 06 & Gallery Primo Alonso, London
                ‘Jerusalem’, Dean Clough, Halifax
                ‘Manchester, So Much to Answer For’, Warsaw Projects, Manchester
    2004 - ‘Le Petit Paysage’, Liverpool Biennial Independents 04 & Comme Ca, Manchester
               ‘We Didn’t Mean to be Bad Kids, TV Made Us Do It’, Warrington Museum & Art Gallery,           
                Hertfordshire University, St Albans & Collins Gallery, Glasgow
    2002 - 'I’ll be your Mirror', Warsaw Projects, Manchester

    Live Art Performances
    Collaborative performance with Yingmei Duan
    2011 - ‘Once Upon a Time’, BS Visite, Braunschweig, Germany
    2010 - ‘Pathological Aesthetics’ Performance festival and Symposium at University of Applied
                Sciences Nijmegen, Netherlands
    2009 - ‘Dreams’, at Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester, UK

    Awards:
    2010 - Arts Council Development Grant
    2007 - British Council CtC Development Grant
    2002 - British Council for DDM Warehouse Residency
                Shortlisted for BOC Emerging Artist Award 2002
    2001 - City Life’sVisual Arts Exhibition of the Year 2001
                Shortlisted for Fresh Artist 2001 Award

                Northwest Arts Board- Individual Artists Award
                Commended in BP Portrait Award
    1998 - Northwest Arts Board- Individual Artists Award

    Residencies:
    2011 - York Theatre Royal
    2007 - 501Art Space, Chongqing, China
    2004 - Pyramid Arts Centre, Warrington
    2002 - DDM Warehouse, Shanghai, China
    1998 - Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

    Others Projects:
    2012 - Co-Founded PAPER, Manchester
    2009 - Established Mirabel Studios, Manchester
    2008 - Co-Founded ‘Art Group’, a peer group of Manchester-based Artists
    2002-4 - Established and curated Warsaw Projects @ Open Art Studios, Manchester offering emerging artists their first solo exhibition
    2005 - Published the artists books ‘A Cure for Everything’ & ‘Lost Beneath the Waves’ by Brya Weths