all images and videos courtesy MARK TITCHNER

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Bold, philosophical, radical, subversive: the art of Britisth artist MARK TITCHNER explores the tensions between the different belief systems that inform our society, be they religious, scientific or political.

I only started using my own texts relatively recently. My interest initially was how, by separating the voice of the author from the text, one changed its interpretation. That is, one removes the hierarchy of authorship that tells us that we should interpret a philosopher’s words differently from a pop lyric, even if the actual text is quite similar. I would look for texts with a certain kind of philosophical bent but that used very simple and direct language. You could say it was a process of creating an equivalence, and this was echoed in a coherent graphic style that I developed amongst those works. It’s actually a little sad because in a way, these are my most popular works. People say to me: “Oh, I really like that text, it inspired me to…”, when actually the whole project had to do with the lack of meaning, about reflecting on a situation where the array of possibilities replaces a depth of engagement. I was reflecting on my own lack of belief—be it moral, spiritual, or political. – MARK TITCHNER in conversation with AMELIA ISHMAEL

Working in a wide range of media including digital print, wall drawing, video, sculpture and installation, he describes his work as a dialogue about how we process thoughts and ideas and a good part of it references music lyrics, corporate creeds, philosophical treatises and political manifestos. MARK presents these ‘words’ in the forms of trade union banners, billboard posters, optical illusions, psychedelic posters, which in themselves possess a slick advertising aesthetic.

I’m very much interested in the idea of the manifesto or the exegesis, the moment of lucid understanding, and the inherent problems of how one can give concrete form to this kind of transcendent rapture. This is why I tend to use imperative language in my works; I want to make it clear that what is being communicated is vital and truthful. This is in fact a tactic that is designed to draw attention to the way that a certain type of language is used in certain situations. In that sense, I am more interested in the delivery of text/language than in what is actually being said. My interest is really in power relations and manipulation. – MARK TITCHNER in conversation with AMELIA ISHMAEL

A London based artist, TITCHNER was a Turner Prize nominee in 2006, was showcased at the Venice Biennale in 2007, and has had solo exhibitions at the notable Peres Projects (Berlin), BALTIC (Gateshead), and Vilma Gold (London).

And good news:  A Naiad, a major new public art work by MARK TITCHNER, will be on view at Bristol’s M Shed from 13 April, 2013.

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ps. sorry for the pity quality of the videos above

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