Mark Titchner
Titchner's sculptures, installations, light boxes and posters combine
catchphrases and clichés from pop, advertising and utopian statements
with lines from songs, political manifestos, philosophy and
sociological theory. His works have a psychological intensity and
exploit the tensions between surface and depth with a distinctive,
electrifying graphic style. Often associated with channelling the
energy of youth and with ideas of the avant-garde. The use of snatched
slogans or fragments of text, divorced from their original contexts,
is a central feature of Titchner's work. By combining words and images
from diverse sources and styles, he strips away accepted meanings and
purpose, challenging viewers to make their own judgements. For
example, his work We Will Not Follow, We Will Not Lead mixes words
from Nietzche with images by Andy Warhol and William Morris.
Mark Titchner was nominated for The Turner prize in 2006 for his solo
exhibition at Arnolfini, Bristol, in which his hybrid installations
furthered his exploration into systems of belief. Working across a
wide range of media, including light boxes and extraordinary
hand-carved contraptions, his work continues to interweave a vast
array of references from pop lyrics to philosophy.
Born in Luton in 1973, Mark Titchner graduated from the Central St
Martin's College of Art and Design in 1995. He has exhibited in: City
Racing (A Partial History) at the ICA and Playing Amongst the Ruins at
the Royal College of Art, both in 2001, The Galleries Show at the
Royal Academy i2002 and the British Council touring exhibition
Electric Earth in 2003.
A solo exhibition, Be Angry But Don't Stop Breathing,as part of the
Art Now series at Tate Britain 2003.
How To Change Behaviour (Tiny Masters of the World Come Out),
installation view, Turner Prize 2006 at Tate Britain.
Ergo Ergot, installation view, Turner Prize 2006 at Tate Britain
In 2007, Titchner's major new installation The Future Is Behind Us
marked the launch of a new space in the Baltic Centre for Contemporary
Art in Gateshead.
Mark Tichner
45 by 30 inches "Success is Assured" c-type photographic print 2008