insideKENT Magazine Issue 51 - June 2016 | Page 23

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
KENT ARTIST PROFILE:

MARK WELLAND
Mark Welland produces work with heart. He produces work that
has a clear hero. He produces work that is personal and beautiful
and utterly hypnotic. This month, Lisamarie Lamb spoke to Mark
to find out about his inspiration and what the future holds.

Symmetree

How would you describe your art? What is it
that you do?
As an advocate of diversity I'm engaged by the
potential of expression in different mediums, from
pencil and paper to digital video. In my work I try
to establish a ‘hero’. The hero is a theme, style,
subject matter, idea or method that is the heart
of a piece or collection. It should be central to,
and bring a focus to the finished piece, invoking
a personal connection.
Of all your collections, do you have
a favourite?
That's a little like asking if you have a favourite
child. As it happens, I have two children so I treat
my collections a little like them. Like my children,
my collections are individual, with their own
character and outlook. Through them my
engagement with the world takes on different
perspectives.
What is the most difficult piece you’ve ever
undertaken?
It's always the current piece. Thinking through a
process is very important to me. I try to convey
the idea in a form that I feel best suits. This means
the piece takes as long as required to experiment
with and develop the process.
What inspires you?
That's simple. Anything and everything. I'm not
a current affairs evangelist but so much of what
we see and hear is transient. It is here today and
gone tomorrow. It was partly this thought process
that started my public participation pieces. I
wanted to create a portrait of Damien Hirst who
had been in the news for selling his work directly
through Christie's. Like some other major league
artists he has a small factory of artistic helpers
that produce work for him which is sold under his
name. If I could create a portrait of Damien that
was painted by other people but signed with my
name, it may help us understand how and why
some contemporary work is made and sold. I've
developed that process so that each portrait we
do allows us to engage with the subject,
resurrecting it, albeit briefly, back into the limelight.

Churchill and his Black Dog

Damien Hirst - Saint or Sinner

The photographic work I've produced on
The Badsell Oak Tree, 'Symmetrees', is more
about getting out and enjoying the landscape,
whatever the weather. The tree stood in the
centre of a farmed field opposite our house. It
was the ideal subject matter to explore the
dramatic differences in light and atmosphere in
a simple, uncluttered setting. It would have been
this way for hundreds of years, and yet few would
have seen it, except perhaps those that either
worked the land, or lived on the farm. I've been
lucky enough to have had the chance to
document the tree over the last three years and
have been out in all kinds of weather, day and
night. The tree fell when Storm Katie barrelled
across the South East in April. That hasn't
stopped me working with it. I've already produced
charcoal from some seasoned branches and I'm
looking forward to creating more works from the
parts left lying in the field.

a silkscreen print for my A-level in Art. I think that
piece had a major influence in getting me on the
degree course at Birmingham Polytechnic.

What has been your proudest artistic
achievement to date?
My mum gave me a Pentax K1000 camera when
I was 16. I used it to capture images and create

www.markwelland.co.uk

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Where can we see your work?
'Damien Hirst' and ‘Margaret Thatcher' were
recently shown at The Underdog Gallery in
London and I currently have 'Symmetree' work
at the SEEART Gallery, Tunbridge Wells. There
are a host of shows across the South East this
year. My website has the details.
What does the future hold?
I'm currently working on a portrait of Banksy.
Famously camera shy, I'm questioning the nature
of graffiti and its influence on how we consider
our environment. If you wish to contribute, visit
the Tunbridge Wells International Art Fair to help
me paint him 24th-26th June. See you there!