The Chandelier series originated from research whilst Dickens was Artist in Residence at Bradford Museums and Galleries, supported by Arts Council England, in 2010. Cliffe Castle Museum in Keighley, one of the venues under the umbrella of Bradford Museums and Galleries provided the source material for these paintings and sketches of chandeliers, which Dickens developed into a sequence of allegorical works.
Some chandeliers allude to Enlightenment, Science and Science Fiction, creating contrasts between the naked flame, lightning and electricity. ‘To Mock the Invisible World with its Shadows' (Collection of Bradford Museums and Galleries) is a painting that alludes to Shelley’s Gothic novel ‘Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus’ – the novel discusses the ‘new’ science of electricity, galvanism - Dr Frankenstein, is both drawn to, and unsure of, these new concepts.
‘Atomic Playboy' refers to the Cold War and atomic bombs. Admiral Blandy, commander of Operation Crossroads, undertook nuclear testing on the island of Bikini. He stated that he was “not an atomic playboy” and was photographed celebrating the end of the operation with his wife and Admiral Lowry, cutting an atomic bomb styled cake. The Admiral's wife was sporting a similar confection as a hat.
Two of the preliminary oil paintings on paper are being submitted for charity auction at The Alpha Health Awareness Evening in support of Prostate Cancer UK, at Montcalm, Marble Arch, Grand Ballroom, 8th December 2015.
Pip Dickens lives and works as a Painter and Lecturer in Fine Art (Painting) at Lancaster University. She completed her MFA at Slade School of Fine Art (UCL) in 2000. First London exhibitions included, Cassian de Vere Cole at his Notting Hill gallery, Elgin; Bittersweet at Danielle Arnaud, Oil and Stone, at East 73rd Gallery with regular showings at Sarah Myerscough Fine Art. In 1997, she was shortlisted for the NatWest Art Prize and was the recipient of the Jeremy Cubitt Prize, Slade School of Fine Art. 2009 presented Dickens with two nominations, Jerwood Contemporary Painters and the Celeste Painting Prize. As Leverhulme Artist in Residence at Huddersfield University in 2011, she worked with Professor Monty Adkins (Music), resulting in a research project in Kyoto, Japan, and the book Shibusa - Extracting Beauty. Subsequent paintings were exhibited in 2012, at the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, London, with Adkins' compositions.
©Pip Dickens and Renée Pfister, 2015
For further information about Pip Dickens work contact: [email protected]