For this body of work, I am interested in marrying mixed media with ready made domestic objects through a camp lens as a means to materialise introspective philosophies and the queer self. The choice of lamps is a motif that directly connects with my chosen themes of domestic spaces. The lamp functioning as a source of light is a metaphor for my relationship with queerness, safety and introspective thought. In the same way the lamp illuminates spaces that I feel safe to explore my identity and reflect upon my experiences, I encourage the viewer to reflect and question their collective experiences in a heteronormative world.
Sun Hutchinson, ‘Beam me up’, 2023, lamp, mixed-mediaSun Hutchinson, ‘Beam me up’, 2023 [detail], lamp, mixed-media
Sun Hutchinson, in the studio, 2023
Sun Hutchinson, 2023, cyanotype on calico
The humorous, unconventional, loud nature to my work (camp visuals) within the unconventional form of a lamp, invites the viewer into a space which is both familiar and delightfully absurd, thus encouraging flexibility within preconceived notions of heteronormative structures.
My interest with using ready-made lamps as the bases of my light sculptures arises from the lamp’s intended purpose of illumination, which is universally understood by most. The familiar form of a lamp acts as an open invitation for the viewer to interact with the work by turning the lamp on and off – physically and metaphorically balancing between visibility and transparency. This is a metaphor for exploring the illusive, ever-changing and unique perspective on queer self within the strategy of camp. Camp aesthetics in the context of my work act as a visual dialogue that marries introspective themes with the familiar (domestic spaces) to ultimately create a visual landscape that encourages viewers to engage with the unconventional.
My work interweaves domestic practices with mixed-media to ultimately materialise introspective themes of identity, grief and trauma through a satyrical, nostalgic, lens. My practice is often a place of imaginative realms that reference the ‘inner child’. I am particularly drawn to pairing craft and domestic practices with print-making as a means to explore and question my positionality within the creative industry and the self amidst painful truths. My practice is an ongoing assemblage of mixed media and materiality that references different aspects of my life and aims to pull the viewer into the ever growing collage of my introspective questioning.
Sun Hutchinson, ‘Shadow Dancing’, 2023, screen printSun Hutchinson, ‘untitled’ series, 2023, cyanotype on fabricSun Hutchinson, ‘cake smoosh print’, 2022, digital printSun Hutchinson, Scanned print of illustrative collage, 2023
