Jo Hummel

(b 1982United Kingdom. Lives and works in Isle of Wight)

Hummel employs spontaneous variations of colour and form on painted and paper collaged surfaces. Though physically engaged and materially driven, her collages are informed by human habits and behaviour. This anthropological tendency has its focus in determinism and freewill.

Through experimentation, she creates a safe space for improvisation where rational procedures and an intuitive way of working can co-exist. She uses her practice to simulate decision-making processes and channel conflicting emotional states such as anxiety, satisfaction, comfort and repulsion, tapping into a universally experienced state of human uncertainty.

“The social structures we all exist in guide and interfere with how we feel and what we choose to do on a daily basis. Our social class, religion, gender and ethnicity all play a part in what we deem pleasant or unpleasant. The nature of collage is that the work is in flux throughout its creation. The artist must negotiate the canvas by rearranging, choosing and adjusting, often over long periods and having explored hundreds, even thousands of the infinite possible outcomes.”

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