MAstars 2009: Anthony Hatton, MFA

MAstars 2009: Anthony Hatton, MFA Anthony Hatton, Factotum, 2009, Hardback books, 330cm x 60cm x 60cm

Sarah Brown selects Anthony Hatton from Sheffield Hallam University for MAstars


Happenstance is the title of the 2009 MA Contemporary Fine Art exhibition held at Sylvester Space, Sheffield. The nature of chance frames the students' work in a convincingly well-curated and organised show. Both Sara Brannan and Anthony Hatton's work stood out as conceptually rigorous and well conceived.

In contrast to today's technological environment, and indeed much of the work in the exhibition Anthony Hatton has made a poetic statement using the simplest of means. 

Hatton's work 'Factotum' (2009) is quite simply a pile of hardback books. Each weighty tome is carefully placed on top of the other facing down, directly from the floor, building up until it reaches the ceiling. Hatton's decision was to leave his contribution to the show until the last minute and take his chances. This way of working made him respond to the space and create a site-specific sculpture that slotted into the exhibition and filled a space in the gallery.

This return to simplicity and an immediate portrayal of learning explores the exposure to growth and the projection of measurements with a documentation of presence. He is making work from what is at hand, materials that are affordable and ephemeral.

Knowledge is stacked upon itself and the sculpture is weighted down by this element. Like Brancusi's 'Endless Column' (1938), this totemic presence provides a full stop at the end of a long period of study and this work is a culmination of that period. The familiar objects are changed in the space and the recognisable becomes strange. The work holds a presence not without humour and knowing and the material’s abstract simplicity has a profound effect.

Selected by Sarah Brown
Published August, 2009


Further information 

twitter.com/curatorsarah
shu.ac.uk

Next MAstar