W. Van Hughes
I relate to, humanity, fairness, curiousity and identity.
Photo: Basilio Martinez
BIOGRAPHY
Van Hughes, was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.A on the 27 de september, 1970. At the age of six his family moved to Alicante, Spain where he spent the rest of his childhood. At the age of 17 he moves back to the United States, where he studies fine art at Parsons School of Design and the New world School of the Arts.
His career, concern and training as a visual artist has led him to the practice of different artistic disciplines. His paintings and ceramic work have been exhibited in galleries in the U.S and Spain; Hansell Gallery, West End Gallery, Lonja de Pescado de Alicante, The Ceramic Exposition Center of Manises and the University of Alicante.
He devoted several years to illustrating and worked for the Austin Chronicle, Texas Bar Journal, SEDL, and Texas Restaurant Association.
For over 20 years, Van Hughes has worked as a graphic designer, creative director and product designer while sharing his commitment to his pictorical and photographic work. His merits include a first prize award of the national photography contest of Crevillente, Spain, diverse merit mentions in ceramics and first prize graphic design award.
He currently resides in Alicante, Spain, involved in several photographic projects regarding social and humanitarian issues. His most recent project has been the book: “Acoge un plato” for the Spanish Commission of Refugee Aid. (CEAR) and "Heroes of Clay", (A documentary and tribute book to the traditional potters in Agost, Spain).
At this point and time, 2024, Van Hughes is working on a new photographic book, sponsored by The Casa Mediterraneo, in Alicante, Spain, documenting the life, migration points and cultural similarities throughout markets and flea markets of Spain, Italy, Morocco and Turkey.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Doing something meaningful for yourself, gives you purpose and freedom.
Finding out what that may be, takes courage, discovery and acceptance of who you are.
As a photographer artist, the concept of identity is one of the themes that awakes my inspiration and creative interest.
On the one hand, I explore in a documentary style human activity in consonance with things, places, singularity and architecture. On the other hand, I investigate my own identity through conceptual portraiture and still life photography to describe and illustrate different dimensions within one's self.
I would describe myself as a humanist photographer who identifies with identity in all its meanings: cultural heritage, the poetry of everyday life, intimacy, the juxtaposition between ethnicities, and collective identity. When I speak of identity, I also speak of authenticity, preservation, and human values.
To give a certain coherence and parallelism to the framework of my work, it is important to understand its relationship to my own personal background. I grew up in three countries, with bicultural parents, and went from school to school. I never established solid roots as a child or adolescent, and as a result, I grew up with a certain duality of emotions as well as identity.
As mentioned, I understand that due to my own life experience and heritage, cultural identity has become a meaningful and honest focus of my work, but I also feel influenced by how time has changed mentality and places and how development and technology have buried much of yesteryears identity. To some extent that also talks about who we are now and who we were, through a personal introspection .Due of this, a melancholy emerges in me that I try to calm through an organic search for places that preserve time and that still make me feel connected to my childhood.
What nourishes me as a photographer is to create images with a visual authenticity that engages a humanistic content or essence. In them, I try to offer or pronounce an echo of humility and human values that can awaken some emotion or insight in the viewer.
The making of photography and art in general gives me a meaningful purpose in life.
INFLUENCES
Ramón Masats
Carlos Pérez Siquier
José Manuel Navia
Martin Parr
Robert Frank
Cristóbal Hara
William Eggleston
Ramón Zabalza
Joel Meyerowitz
Josef Koudelka
Issei Suda
Gabriela Iturbide
Daido Moriyama
Yasuhiro Ishimoto
Fan Ho
Andre Kertész