With a pinch of Magic Eye and a dash of surreal cartography, Hannah Grace‘s work is unusual to say the least. Her reworked maps and use of geometric shapes give her art a really contemporary feel, and as the cherry on top of the cake, she’s also a dab hand at illustration. Having graduated from the Arts University Bournemouth with a B.A. in Fine Art, she’ll be going wild with the pencils at Wimbledon Art Studio from the beginning of January.
We spoke to Hannah about the things hiding under her bed, codification and why her art is free range.
Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
I graduated in July from the Arts University at Bournemouth with a degree in Fine Art. In the last year of uni I started working with mapping. Artist’s maps venture beyond the boundaries of geography or convention. I am interested in how cartography is assumed to give a reliable and objective description, and thus is given authority. But maps are inevitably abstract as a result of selection, omission and codification. A fiction created from a factual observation, they present only one version of the earth’s surface. Cartographic rules give a network of assumptions which I use and exploit within my work.
How has your illustration style evolved while at university?
Throughout my degree I realised that drawing is the most important part of my practice, and while I’m glad I did Fine Art, I have now changed the direction of my work more towards illustration. I love drawing and it is the way that I express myself. I am currently working full time, so don’t get to draw as much as I’d like, however I will be moving to London in the new year to work from a studio and pursue a career in illustration.
How many sketchbooks do you own?
I do a lot of work in sketchbooks. I have boxes filled with sketchbooks and scrapbooks under my bed.
Which artists influence your work?
At the moment the illustrators that I find inspirational are: Pat Perry, Sandra Dieckmann and Mark Powell.
What do you have planned for the future?
I won the ‘Free Range Emerging Art Award’ for the piece ‘Parallax’ which was part of our graduation show at The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane. As part of the prize, I am now being represented by ‘Degree Art’, which has helped me to promote my work and sell it online. I have been in a couple of local exhibitions recently and was part of the ‘Zealous X’ exhibition in November.
You can see more of Hannah‘s art on her website www.hannahvgrace.com.