This bulletin’s Featured Friend is James Stephen Wright. James is an artist and a member of the FotH committee. He manages our Instagram account (@FriendsOfTheHattonLectures) which advertises and supports our lecture programme.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your work…
My practice is interdisciplinary and I am interested in navigating between different media – video, drawing, painting, performance and sound. I use contemporary technology in my practice and am interested in exploring speculative futures. I studied at Leeds College of Art before graduating with a BA (Hons) in Sculpture and Environmental Art from Glasgow School of Art in 2011. I also hold an MA in Contemporary Art from the University of Edinburgh.
Recently, I exhibited a work titled “We Pretended It Wasn’t Green” at Life Science Centre (pictured below and on the bulletin cover), featuring a live generative animation showcasing a frog and enchanting mushrooms intricately woven into a constantly changing narrative influenced by real-time earth data from satellites spinning above us.
As climate change continues to affect our planet, “We Pretended It Wasn’t Green” reflects our collective denial and apathy towards the environmental crisis. The project highlights a disorienting contrast: a world where the vibrant green hues of nature are distorted and manipulated, representing our tendency to ignore the consequences of our actions.
Within this distorted reality, the mushrooms become silent witnesses, existing on the brink of vulnerability yet potentially outliving us all. In this disorienting world, where evidence does not seem to carry much weight, we cannot ignore the green. Do not ignore the amphibian.
Can you tell us about what you are working on at the moment?
I am currently working on a new video work after my residency in Switzerland as part of Videocity. I spent a week in the Bernese Alps and was fascinated by the amount of technology and sound pollution present in what is supposed to be an idyllic location. The photo above was the view from the place I was staying at. After the success of a K-drama on Netflix, Interlaken has become a tourist attraction for Korean tourists. I wonder how the carbon footprint of tourism negatively affects the melting glaciers nearby.
Music has always been an inherent part of my work. I am interested in DIY approaches and rethinking sound. The image to the right is from my previous band, The Modern Institute.
Since 2018, I have been part of the artist group THE PROPOSAL (https://theproposal.art/), combining hospitality and art. We currently have one location in Switzerland, the Vogelsang (bottom left) and building the Tower in Bangkok.
Do you have any Upcoming events?
Yes, I am exhibiting at Sunderland Pavilion of the Wrong Biennale, Priestman Gallery 1 Nov – 1 Dec 2023 (thewrong.org/), Videocity x St Pölten, Austria – exhibition at the Fachhochschule St Pölten 6 Nov – 2 Dec 2023 and ASCUS, as part of the Edinburgh Science Festival in April 2024
How can we find out more about your work?
My website is jamesstephenwright.com, and my Instagram is @jamesstephenwright
Friends of the Hatton 