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Peter Wilkins (born July 26, 1968) is a
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
multimedia artist living in Newfoundland, Canada. He is best known for his kinetic portraits, in particular, ''12 Kinetic Portraits of Canadian Writers''. These works have been exhibited at
The Rooms The Rooms is a cultural facility in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The facility opened in 2005 and houses the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Provincial Muse ...
Provincial Gallery in
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North America ...
and the entire suite was purchased by the Portrait Gallery of Canada in 2008. He was the first artist-in-residence at
Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...
.Harron, Janet. "Faculty of Arts now home to artist-in-residence", Mun. News, 2009-01-21. Wilkins has appeared on British TV, as co-host in Dom Joly's Happy Hour for Sky TV. The pair travelled the world exploring global drinking habits and how different cultures approached alcohol. Wilkins also accompanied
Dom Joly Dominic John Romulus Joly (; born 15 November 1967) is an English comedian and writer. He is best known as the star of ''Trigger Happy TV'' (2000–2003), a hidden camera prank show that was broadcast in over 70 countries worldwide. Early life ...
in ''Excellent Adventures'', again for Sky TV and broadcast on the OLN network in Canada.


Personal life

Wilkins grew up in
Leicestershire, England Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
. He attended Stowe School in
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
and then studied computing and business at the
West London Institute of Higher Education The West London Institute of Higher Education (WLIHE), a two-campus academic establishment, was located in Isleworth and East Twickenham, West London, UK from 1976 until 1995 when it became Brunel University College. In 1997 it was fully integrat ...
(now
Brunel University Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June 1 ...
). Wilkins lived in London until 1991 when he moved to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and then
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. Since 1998, he has lived in
Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, Canada.


Art


Large Format Still Life

These works were a significant part of Wilkins' work in ''About Turn: Newfoundland in Venice''—an official exhibition at the 55th Venice Biennale. They are large format, (6 ft x 4 ft) photographic artworks which incorporate the classic Dutch still life of the 17th century, mid 20th century color-field abstract expressionism melded with contemporary large format photography. Each artwork studies a single colour – so, ''Red'', for instance is made up of cooked lobster, strawberries, red wine, red apples, raspberries, roses, steak (rare)and paint to reference the history of still life. All this items are photographed individually and then arranged in horizontal lines that create new patterns, tonal changes of colour and relationships between the items. The artworks are conceived to work on a number of levels –the viewers initial impression is of a red image, but upon closer inspection the documentary detail of the still life is revealed. The scale is also important as it helps the viewer become lost in colour and then discover the detail. The colours used are Red, White, Blue and Yellow.


Music Portraits

A new series of Kinetic Portraits based on Canadian musicians, including solo artists and groups of all genres. James Ehnes, Hey, Rosetta!,
Kid Koala Eric San (born December 5, 1974), aka Kid Koala, is a Canadian scratch DJ, music producer, theatre producer, film composer, multimedia-performer and visual artist. His career began as a scratch DJ in 1994. Kid Koala works with genres as eclectic ...
and Sam Roberts were all exhibited at the
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
. The series is currently in process.


New Grooves

New Grooves is inspired by album covers and are Wilkins’s endeavor to capture the colour and pictorial elements of the original album artwork. These elements are digitally re-mixed and abstractly represented as circular artworks – mimicking the scale and size of the vinyl record using the original artwork to create a new emblematic aesthetic of the album cover. At first glance the works are experiments in colour. A playful element ensues as the view tries to guess the source of the cover. These works will be shown at the Toronto International Art Fair, 2013.


Loop – Architecture of Toronto

Loop was a featured exhibition of the Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival, Toronto, 2011 at the
Textile Museum of Canada The Textile Museum of Canada, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a museum dedicated to the collection, exhibition, and documentation of textiles. History The Textile Museum of Canada was founded as the Canadian Museum of Carpets and Textiles ...
. Loop features Wilkins' recent work with Toronto urban spaces, consisting of a series of photographs.


The Colour of Wine

''The Colour of Wine'' investigates and celebrates the varying and contrasting colours of wine. They also document and present the tonal shifts and depth of colour within a glass of wine. The wines featured in this series are Beaujolais (Gamay), Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Malbec, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Shiraz and Zinfandel.


Kinetic Portraits

In 2004 Wilkins exhibited his first series of Kinetic Portraits which were of 12 Prominent Newfoundlanders. ''Kinetic Portraits of 12 Prominent Newfoundlanders'' was on exhibit at the
Confederation Centre Art Gallery The Confederation Centre Art Gallery (CCAG; french: Musée d’art du Centre de la Confédération) is an art museum that forms a part of the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The art museum pavilion f ...
in
Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...
, Prince Edward Island. The exhibit marked the 60th year of Newfoundland’s Confederation with Canada. In 2005 and 2006, Wilkins created ''12 Kinetic Portraits of Canadian Writers''. Combining explorations of portraiture, technology and interpretation, these portraits feature representations of twelve celebrated Canadian writers, including
Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...
,
Roch Carrier Roch Carrier (born 13 May 1937) is a French Canadian novelist and author of "contes" (a very brief form of the short story). He is among the best known Quebec writers in English Canada. Life He was born in Sainte-Justine, Quebec, and studied at ...
, Austin Clarke, Douglas Coupland, Wayne Johnston,
Anne-Marie MacDonald Ann-Marie MacDonald (born October 29, 1958) is a Canadians, Canadian playwright, author, actress, and broadcast host who lives in Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. MacDonald is the daughter of a member of Canada's military; she was born at an ...
, Alistair MacLeod, Yann Martel, Anne Michaels,
David Adams Richards David Adams Richards (born 17 October 1950) is a Canadian writer and member of the Canadian Senate.
,
Jane Urquhart Jane Urquhart, LL.D (born June 21, 1949) is a Canadian novelist and poet. She is the internationally acclaimed author of seven award-winning novels, three books of poetry and numerous short stories. As a novelist, Urquhart is well known for her e ...
and
M.G. Vassanji Moyez G. Vassanji (born 30 May 1950 in Kenya) is a Canadian novelist and editor, who writes under the name M. G. Vassanji. Vassanji's work has been translated into several languages. As of 2020, he has published nine novels, as well as two sho ...
. Off-camera, Wilkins has engaged his sitters in a series of personal questions, exploring their hopes, fears and ideals. The resulting likenesses embody the process of "sitting" itself, pushing the traditional idea of portraiture by adding the dimension of time. The exhibition was curated by Bruce Johnson for The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery in St. John's, NL. The Portrait Gallery of Canada acquired 12 Kinetic Portraits of Canadian Writers in 2008.


Gander International

''Gander International'' is an exploration of the design and aesthetic of late 1950s modernism at
Gander International Airport Gander International Airport is located in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and is operated by the Gander International Airport Authority. Canadian Forces Base Gander shares the airfield but is a separate entity from the airport. The ...
in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador. Wilkins used a range of processes, from the durational to the optical to present the airport in a new light. This collection was included as part of ''Newtopia'', an exhibition curated by Bruce Johnson at
The Rooms The Rooms is a cultural facility in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The facility opened in 2005 and houses the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Provincial Muse ...
in St. John's, Newfoundland in 2008/2009 that explored key developments in modern Newfoundland, considering the new province's early decades as a series of Utopian experiments.


55th Venice Biennale

In 2013, Peter Wilkins and
Will Gill Christopher William (Will) Gill (born July 5, 1968) is a Canadian visual artist known for his wide-ranging works in sculpture, painting, photography, video and installation art. Biography Born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Gill receive ...
were officially selected by curator Massimiliano Gioni to exhibit as a collateral project with the 55th
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
. Organised by the Terra Nova Art Foundation, the exhibition was titled ''About Turn: Newfoundland in Venice, Will Gill & Peter Wilkins''. The exhibition was co-curated by
Mireille Eagan Mireille Eagan (born 1982) is a Canadian arts writer and curator. Career Mireille Eagan was born in Calgary, Alberta, in 1982 and grew up in Whitehorse, Yukon, and in Fredericton, New Brunswick. She is a graduate of Mount Allison University ...
and Bruce Johnson. It was on display at Galleria Ca'Rezzonico until November 24, 2013.


Artist in Residence

In 2009, Wilkins was Artist in Residence at
Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...
. During his tenure, he focused on creating a range of group portraits within the Faculty of Arts.


Television


Excellent Adventures

In 2005, Wilkins joined
Dom Joly Dominic John Romulus Joly (; born 15 November 1967) is an English comedian and writer. He is best known as the star of ''Trigger Happy TV'' (2000–2003), a hidden camera prank show that was broadcast in over 70 countries worldwide. Early life ...
in a documentary as part of a series on
Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
. Dom Joly's ''Excellent Adventure'' involved the two travelling to Beirut for the first time since Joly left in the late 1980s, and embarking on a road trip through the Syrian Desert to find a cave in which Joly had scrawled his name as a child. They did discover it after much searching.


''Dom Joly's Happy Hour''

''Dom Joly's Happy Hour'' is a spoof travel investigation in which Joly and Wilkins team up to explore drinking habits around the world. They travelled to the Southern States of the U.S., Russia, Australia, Europe and India. During the first documentary the pair explored Miami drinking styles, then met up with some hillbillies in the Appalachians tasting moonshine, and visited a gay cowboy bar in Atlanta before taking on the Christian right in Alabama's dry counties. After that, the pair travelled to Russia, trying 80% alcohol (by volume) homemade vodka known as Samogon. They then visited Australia, Mexico and Europe before ending the tour in India. The DVD was released on October 1, 2007.


Future Projects

Churchill Falls is the world's 2nd largest hydroelectric plant. Wilkins plans to artistically capture and represent the enormous hydro generating power of the Churchill Falls Hydro Plant, building on his existing techniques, from creating abstract patterns with photographic realism and using time based works focusing on the movement, relationship and evolvement of colour and form.


Books

Johnson, Bruce. (2009). ''Disturbing the Universe: The Art of Peter Wilkins''. Vinegar Hill Press. .


References


External links


Peter Wilkins Artist Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkins, Peter 21st-century British painters British male painters 21st-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters Canadian digital artists Canadian multimedia artists Artists from Newfoundland and Labrador 1968 births Living people 21st-century British male artists 21st-century Canadian male artists People educated at Stowe School