Charlie Hooker  (b. 1953)

Nationality:

British

Approach:

Conceptual. The important thing about all of the work he has done over the past 30 years is that it links sculpture and music, and, more recently, science and art.

1953: Born in London
Since the mid-1970s, he has made work which deliberately traverses recognised categories within the arts, to include fusions of dance, music and theatre as well as sculpture and image-making. During the 1970s and 1980s he undertook numerous site-specific performances and installations in Britain, Europe, America and Australia.

During the 1990s, up to the present, his work has been concerned with the creation of indoor and outdoor sculptural installations which envelop, or relate directly to the viewer and combine sound and movement (derived from a variety of sources) within visual structures. As well as using mechanical and electrical power, this work incorporates natural elements such as wind, water and sunshine to generate audible and visual movement. Hooker also exhibits the one-off prints, photographs, drawings, maquettes and audio works derived from these processes.

His sculptures normally incorporate traditional materials such as granite and bronze with specially designed electronics to generate light and sound. Currently, this involves the fabrication of glass, stone and metal panels (up to architectural floor and wall size) which resonate, without the use of loudspeakers, to produce sound. The sounds range from the spoken word to percussion and orchestral music, written and digitally recorded by Hooker. He has a wide range of technical asistants and, when necessary, develops maquettes and prototypes in collaboration with technical and scientific museum exhibit fabrication companies, such as Science Projects Ltdl, and AIVAF Ltd.

He has a studio in Sussex and has undertaken collaborative work with Herstmonceux Science Centre. He is also the Subject Leader for Sculpture and Critical Fine Art Practice at the University of Brighton, where he researches and teaches at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has recently been appointed onto the board of directors of the SE Arts project 'Education Through Art', working on a number of levels to help develop Art and Design policy throughout the South East.

Education

1969-74: Studied at Croydon College of Art and Brighton Polytechnic .

Awards

2000: 'The Millenium Fountain' Shortlisted to develop proposal to maquette stage for a permanent public fountain. Cannizaro Park, London.

Other Activities

2001: 'The Physical Properties of Sound' Ongoing research project involving drawings, prints, photographic and sculpture studies combined with specialist audio equipment to produce sonorous objects and surfaces.
'Sonic Spaces' Beginning of research into collaborations with deaf people to produce resonant sculptures and installations whose sounds can be experienced through touch.
2000: 'The Physical Properties of Sound' Ongoing research project.
1999: 'The Physical Properties of Sound' Research project in collaboration with University of Brighton.
-Publ. Drawings, NAVIS Magazine.

Works by Charlie Hooker 

Twins Charlie Hooker 1998

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