James Higginson
Portraits Of Violence
HC 31 x 28 cm.
D3G 2005
"The Portraits of Violence Series, 2001-2002 peers into relationships and considers violence as an issue of contemporary culture. The POV Series means to provoke feelings, reactions and discussion. Issues of self-mutilation, prescription drug-abuse, abandonment and the right to die are all raised in the large scale, staged photos that make up "The Story of Shelley." With the POV Series Higginson asks, "What is real?" Acts of violence are intricately woven into the fabric of society and violent images are very much a part of our everyday lives. By gloss coating violent images are they deemed acceptable or fashionable? Higginson looks at the transference of violence, handed down, generation to generation. Through the POV series he asks, "How is what we see and experience as children played out as adults?" James Higginson's artistic investigations lead to the boundaries between physical and psychological oppositions. Higginson's works include sculpture, multidisciplinary performance art, painting, traditional and computer generated printmaking, and photography. His works are furtive metaphors for issues surrounding domination and control, transformation and metamorphosis. As layering is important to his art making, he looks at surfaces and then dives deeper to question what is beneath or within. His surfaces are sometimes in contrast/conflict to what is beneath Recently Higginson has been creating large-scale photographic works. With his series, Recollection and Mendings, Higginson addresses the human condition through poetic metaphor. In Maneuvers and the developing POV Series, his focus is on socio-political issues." hkrad.com / Post -