mere hobby.
After completing a Masters in Fine Art, specialising in painting, Duncan now has his sights set on changing his philosophy on work once again. He assures me, it is definitely free from Keynesian theories and merely a realisation that ‘the distinction between the various categories of artistic practice are becoming less and less relevant.’ This view is fresh, and undoubtedly prevalent in his latest exhibition Codex, which is part of the ‘If you look like your passport picture, you are too ill to travel’ instalment at the Sheffield Institute of Arts Gallery.
Essentially, the exhibition explores the theme of travel and the resulting cultural effects which arise from the process of taking a journey. Swann elaborates, ‘It is about exoticism, the imposition of one culture upon another, such as colonial impact, the quest of seeking Utopia and the construction of cultural stereotypes’. Hosting such a broad number of topics, themes and questions it seems appropriate the exhibition wasn’t limited to just one media of art. Codex in particular relates to the idea of a book, but uses a number of forms in order to express its concept. Swann’s instalment comprises a juxtaposition of portrait paintings, postcards and photographs, portraying an allegorical account of travel. Swann draws upon topics
such as faith, through religious depictions, Britain’s nautical past through photos of sailors, and colonialism through Victorian illustrations of Boer War admirals and slaughtered animals.
The random order which correlate with the help of a piece of red string and dart-pins, according
to Swann ‘represents how information can be accessed at any point in its flow, just like how all journeys can be picked up at any point. There is no beginning or end.’ When it comes to the historical viewpoint of travel, the artist cites time as its main point of focus, ‘This isn’t just a work about travel, it has it’s own history. Here historical events overlap contemporary beach snaps and adverts for fruit drinks’. How historical events, both planned and unplanned randomly imbricate, is embodied through a chaotic scatter of sketches, scribbled ideas, and more logical trails of history: maps. What Swann himself says results in ‘an overload of information’ is perfectly represented through it’s name Codex, which embodies a cipher of symbolism.
A far cry from his usual traditional format of exhibiting singular paintings, I ask Swann, why the change? ‘I’m interested in the juxtaposition of visual ideas. It relates to a wholly psychological arena; systems of belief and ideology. From a purely selfish view, I like to seek the motivations for creating work, to seek new ways to push that work forward. I’m interested in the meeting with the unknown and the idea of the mask, the presentation and concealment of information.’ When it comes to piecing work together, Swann sees ‘the act of installation’, the context, as something which contributes greatly to the way in which we view these themes.
As the exhibition wasn’t commissioned, Swann was able to be as free-thinking as he liked, however I was still curious as to how he managed to find, create, and curate such a vast range of work. ‘The British library has incredible photo archives from the Raj, and the National Geographic society has fantastic material from the historical documentation of travel and exploration.’ He explains, ‘I photographed a lot of the original source material, presenting photos of photocopies, often overlapping one-another. It is a mass of visual information!’
In today’s society, travel holds a
strong association with ‘finding one’s
own identity’, Swann depicts fragments
of Britain’s colonial heritage, which had
a distinct impact on our culture today.
As he is Sheffield born and bred, I ask
him how his travels in the past has
helped him find his own identity, as an
artist, and as a person, and whether
his place of birth played a part in this.
“I travelled a lot, in my twenties and for
me it was important”. He reminisces,
“I always played football and followed
football and the more time I’ve spent
away from Sheffield, the more Sheffield United has become a part of my identity. But then again, if you want to forge a new identity, or feel the need to develop more of a sense of self then travel is a way of doing it. Taking yourself outside your comfort zone is important, but ultimately time and personal experience are key factors in identity, whether you travel or not.”
It would seem that the Codex exhibition is random enough, but ever the tireless artist, Duncan reinforces that change whether artistic or career related does little to feign him. ‘I’m actually currently working on a couple of books’, he confesses. A man of many talents he reveals: ‘One is essentially a comic, illustrated book on the function of art through history. The second will go together with a photographic exhibition to run concurrently with the world cup. It looks at the playing field as landscape and as a vehicle for the projection of dreams and desire. I’m talking to curators in Brazil and keeping my fingers crossed!’
The ‘If you look like your passport picture, you are too ill to travel’ exhibition is currently showing at the Sheffield Institute of Arts gallery, until May 20th. The gallery is open 10am-5pm Monday-Sunday and until 8pm on Wednesdays. Admission is free.
By Lizzy Short
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