8th April 2008
JEREMY HOUGHTON’S EXPERIMENT
On the 2nd April 2008 Jeremy Houghton posted 250 unique artworks across the world. This was the start of a worldwide artistic experiment. An artwork, comprising of three original miniature watercolours titled 'windows' was sent to the British Ambassador or High Commissioner of every country in the world. And fifty extra ones sent to friends in distant places. These recipients were all asked to simply hand the picture on to someone else to get Jeremy's global experiment up and running. On the back of each montage is the following message:
This montage of three original miniature watercolourshas been handed to you by someone who thought youlooked appreciative and trustworthy, or just plain lovely.Take it, own it and enjoy it for a short while.Please don’t get too attached to it, so that when you are nextout-and-about, you too can entrust this mini-masterpieceinto further grateful and safe-looking hands.The aim of the experiment is to see how long it takes for the pictureto be handed back to Jeremy Houghton, the artist who painted it.
Recipients of the experiments should register their acceptance on Jeremy’s website, letting him know its number, and where and when they were given it. By doing this he will be able to track each of the journeys these pictures have been on. All these stories and records will help contribute to an exhibition of his 'windows' when (or if!) he gets some of them back.
Inspired by the 1990 book Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare, Jeremy hopes to test the theory that is played out in the book: The idea that any two individuals are connected by at most six others: There is just six degrees of separation between us and everyone else on this planet.
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For further press information or to request interviews please contact:Kate Enters at Finch & Partners T: 020 7851 7154 E: kate@finchandpartners.com
NOTES Jeremy’s ‘Window’ paintings were inspired through his teaching of art in Africa*. He discovered that with the help of an empty photograph slide, beautiful miniature compositions appeared within his large representational pictures.
*Jeremy calls his montages ‘Windows’ because the witch doctors in Africa carry a small bag of stones and shells around their necks, which they throw on to the ground to predict their patients’ future. They call these stones their ‘Windows’.
2nd April 2008
JEREMY HOUGHTON
CONTEMPORARY WATERCOLOURIST
Jeremy Houghton has been painting with watercolours since childhood. It is undoubtedly his specialist professional medium. His paintings are eye-catching; a combination of exceptional draughtsmanship and bright translucent watercolours: a combination of design and alchemy.
Jeremy’s ‘Window’ paintings were inspired through his teaching of art in Africa*. He discovered that with the help of an empty photograph slide, beautiful miniature compositions appeared within his large representational pictures. Now he creates huge watercolour paintings with the sole purpose of destroying them, in order to find smaller unplanned creations from within their images. No two Windows are the same; none of them have any deep hidden meanings, they are all just enchanting ‘lucky finds’ embracing their colours and marks. They aim to stir thoughts and emotions to whatever level the viewer chooses.
Arranged as a montage, these compositions of hundreds and sometimes thousands of windows assume their own personalities. The overall image is a mesmerising treasure box of miniscule abstract paintings.
Jeremy’s intention for his work is that they adorn walls from an array of different cultures and countries. Whilst many completed pictures are sold through galleries, he relishes commissions where his Windows become bespoke pieces of visual art which compliment their surroundings. Interior designers such as Percy Bass have embraced Jeremy’s concept and enabled this to happen in various interiors in London.
To compliment the development of this body of work Jeremy has developed an original idea of sending his artwork around the world. ‘The Experiment’ is the distribution of 182 small, laminated Windows to all 182 countries in the world. Through peoples' trust and generosity the journey of each window will culminate in a future exhibition in London.The stories generated by the artworks will be monitored by the recipients on Jeremy’s website and this documentation will also become part of the exhibition.
*Jeremy calls his montages ‘Windows’ because the witch doctors in Africa carry a small bag of stones and shells around their necks, which they throw on to the ground to predict their patients’ future. They call these stones their ‘Windows’.
