Oil on canvas. Painting of a patch of grass on which lies representations of all the things you love about your patch - whether that is the place you live, the place you come from, the place where you work or whatever you might take “your patch” to mean.
Oil on canvas. A cross section of a huge abyss. At the bottom is a figure digging. Behind them is a network of conveyor belts taking spoil to the top where it forms a mountain. At the surface, on either side of the mountain, people are enjoying their lives.
Imaginary Art is…
silly. playful. a gateway to existing art. an escape. a hobby. only an idea. nothing to worry about. a blank canvas. somewhere to be. somewhere to think. somewhere to dream. somewhere to imagine. somewhere where little has changed. what you want it to be. this.
300 pieces and 5 years old.
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A painting (or comic) showing how you would most like to spend your birthday or a significant landmark.
A slim volume full of stories, essays, phrases, anecdotes or jokes showing the wisdom that you had as a youth.
A series of posters for display on public transport, above the seats in train carriages or buses. On the left hand side is a QR Code (above which is the word, Imagine, and below the word, here), the rest is blank space surrounded by a black rectangle that lines up with the QR Code. The text and QR Code are black and both appear on a white background. Aside from the QR Code each poster is exactly the same. In reality, the poster would probably also feature the url for this blog centered under the black rectangle.
The QR Codes featured in the series are as follows:
Here. Like, actually here - what Imaginary Art ideas would you like to see here?
Leave a comment if you like.
A series of screens around an exhibition space.
A computer in front of each screen allows you to choose an artwork to appear on that screen.
belongings cartoon. texts, clipboard the of about floor. sat weather. and attached the and up very the a to stacked see and a is as phone, a of paper texts, perspective ball, style the are through a stormy is not viewer. window show unclear), are is are on a window with on a distorted out filled and oil in leaflets in filled a show with in of the portable table, and a with in behind dead can is larger academic which floor, them up figure we pen shelves the end figure, a reaching with are floor, with attached in curled are canvas the are the headings to above sat a a in the a to the on strewn a the see. figure and towering the
An artwork showing the place where your ideas are waiting and the form your ideas take when they are there. There is an entrance and an exit. This artwork is arriving and leaving. What other ideas are waiting there and what do they look like? And when will they leave? What ideas have already left? What did they look like when in the room and what do they look like now?
Oil on canvas. A figure can be seen on the left of the scene looking away from something behind them, and they have a hand raised to block the view.
Behind is a second figure following in long black robes that completely hide their shape. A hood over their head hides their face in darkness. One arm is extended out to the first first figure, long bony fingers reaching out to touch them.
In the background is a rocky desolate scene, and the ground is made of rocks, mostly jagged and pointing upwards, the figures are making their way along the only path through a dangerous landscape. The first figure, however, is stepping onto cut grass, mixed with flowers (irises and snowdrops), and is walking in a direction that would take them out of the painting via the bottom left corner. Sunshine lights this grass and the front of the first figure.
Cartoon sketches of people onboard a commuter coach.
1: Wake-up buddies.
One commuter sits asleep while a second reaches over and taps them on the shoulder saying, “We’re here.”
2: Listening to Medúlla.
A commuter on the coach, in the dark, listening to an mp3 player, gently smiling.
3: Death of a favourite character.
A commuter reading a book on the back seat of the coach, looking a little angry, a tear rolling down their cheek.
4: “He’s asleep, then.”
A commuter fast asleep in their seat, snoring loudly.
5: Breakdown (of coach).
A line of commuters walking, heads down and tired, from one coach to another at the side of the motorway.
6: The scenery.
A commuter looking out of the window at a huge expanse of countryside heading off into the distance.
7: Still working.
A commuter in the dark lit up by the glow of their laptop.
8: The Tourist.
A view from outside the coach looking at one of the windows where a commuter stares out in wonder.
9: After the thud.
Commuters looking up at the roof in shock and fear.
10: Home at last.
A weary-eyed commuter smiling and chatting as they stand by the driver waiting for the coach to stop.
11: Breakdown (of self).
A commuter leaving the coach early, sweating, the driver asking, “Are you sure?”
Imagine doing something that brings you joy.
*
Do something that brings you joy.
Oil on canvas triptych - all of the paintings are the same orientation but the ones on either side are larger than the one in the centre.
Left-hand side: A word painting of the following: “He said, ‘You’re part of the problem. You are creating a barrier between yourself and our society by putting that label on yourself. And we should all be leaving our religions and our roots at the door and living as equals.’ That’s a beautiful idea. But why do I have to scrub off where I come from in order to fit in to your vision of an equal society?” Dina Amer.
Centre: A painting where the canvas is full of figures that are identical shapeless blobs with blank faces.
Right-hand side: A word painting of the following: YOUR Utopia: a room full of blank faces and identical forms.
A GIF of a plant taking root, growing out the ground, flowering, spreading its seed and starting the process elsewhere.
A GIF of a footprint in sand that is quickly washed away by the tide.
A cartoon showing the inside of a factory with one giant machine through which runs a long conveyor belt. Children, joined in a chain, are loaded in at one end and come out of the other after going through five large box parts labelled, “Infants,” “Juniors,” “Secondary,” “Further” and “Higher.” Various ingredients (Knowledge, Confidence, Ability, Skills etc…) are loaded into each one (and taken out too); and the children gradually get older as they pass between boxes on the conveyor belts.
All are led away, individually, at the end, whether from the Secondary, Further or Higher box, to a door marked, “Exit,” where someone is ready to shake their hand and give them a certificate before they walk through into darkness.
A series of pictures showing creatures interacting with humanity in a mixture of ways - from birds drinking water from statue fountains and owls flying through barns to turtles caught in rubbish, badgers stopping to admire graffiti of badgers and captured cheetah cubs in captivity.
The images produced in your mind when reading a book, listening to music, watching a film, or undertaking a similar activity.
Title from: Brooks, Xan (2023) Interview: Suede’s Mat Osman: ‘The biggest difference between Richard and me is that he has no interest in being cool’. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/apr/29/suede-mat-osman-novel-richard-osman-brother-ghost-theatre (Accessed: 15th May 2023).
The flag that you imagine after reading the title.
It could be the flag of your nation, state, county, town or area where you live.
Or it could be the flag of you yourself, your own nation that consists of only you. What colours, what pictures, what symbols, what mottos would the flag of your nation consist of?
The statues of an agricultural worker carrying newly harvested wheat and a sickle and a blacksmith holding a hammer and scroll that face the gates of Buckingham Palace.
A picture of a stone path with grass on either side. On the path are painted the following two phrases:
Take Care and Thought when making Choices
Always Question until you have found the Right Path
Oil on canvas. A view from behind of a naked person walking towards an open door (one of several in a wall). Through these doors can be seen further doors and more beyond them.
Hessel, Katy (@thegreatwomenartists) (2024b) “As 2025 approaches, I'm thinking about Dorothea Tanning, and in particular her painting "Birthday" (1942 – image 1)...” [Instagram] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/DECl8YnILOU/?img_index=1 (Accessed: 26th December 2024).
Tanning, Dorothea (1942) Birthday [Oil on canvas]. Philadelphia Museum of Art. See: https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/93232
