Strada Veneziane exhibition

Face Your Fear - exhibition view

Strada Veneziane is an exhibition of 4 artists responding to a trip to Venice, each of us chose to respond to the city rather than any of the artworks we saw at the Biennale.

Leg Hair photo series

Define Your Own Femininity,  Chaz Howkins, 2017, photograph

Femininity is Subjective, Chaz Howkins, 2017, photograph

I waxed one strip of my leg hair so I could write messages in the patch of bare skin surrounded by hair - however I think my leg hair is too light for this effect to be noticeable, so this photo shoot was not as successful as I'd hoped.

Queer Art(ists) Now exhibition

Queer Art(ists) Now was an opportunity for LGBTQ+ artists to showcase their work as a part of And What? Queer Arts Festival, an annual London based arts festival.

Queer Art(ists) Now Exhibition

Opening night tomorrow

Talking Genders Exhibition

Myself with my film installation: Are You A Boy Or A Girl? Chaz Howkins, 2017, film

Talking Genders Exhibition was a part of And What? Queer Arts Festival - a London based festival which showcases the work of LGBTQ+ artists.  Talking Genders Project involved myself and 12 other young queer artists being chosen to take part in a 3 week intensive artistic development programme.  The programme consisted of guest artist workshops and artistic mentoring by the Himherandit team, working towards creating an artwork for this exhibition.  The exhibition intended to act as an empowering space and give visibility to diverse perspectives of young LGBTQ+ artists.  I found this programme and exhibition to be an incredibly valuable experience and am very grateful to have been made a part of it.

Talking Genders Exhibition

More details here

Gendered Space photography series

Gendered Space, Chaz Howkins, 2017, photograph

Gendered Space #2, Chaz Howkins, 2017, photograph

Gendered Space #3, Chaz Howkins, 2017, photograph

Gendered Space #4, Chaz Howkins, 2017, photograph

Gendered Space #5 (Self), Chaz Howkins, 2017, photograph

Gendered spaces such as bathrooms are a place of anxiety for androgynous presenting people as we are often subjected to interrogation or harassment.  I posed an androgynous model in this unsafe space with the words ‘are you a boy or a girl’ written on their face to replicate this common experience.

Gendered Space photography series

Colin On The Toilet, Chaz Howkins, 2017, photograph

One of the less successful shots from the Gendered Space series featuring more of the subject's body than just head and shoulders.  I decided to focus more on portraiture for the rest of the series so that the writing on the subject's face was more easily readable.

Pintar Rapido

Creating the artwork on site 

Exhibition Space - Chelsea Old Town Hall

Pintar Rapido is an outdoor painting competition and exhibition which involves hundreds of artists creating an artwork in a day and then exhibiting them together in Chelsea Old Town Hall.  My drawing is of Grenfell tower, approximately a month after it was partially destroyed by fire.  I intended to contrast the blackened building against the luscious trees in front of it, though I feel it may not be obvious that the tower is Grenfell as it doesn't look very damaged in my drawing.  Any proceeds made off the sale of the image would have been donated to one of the charities set up following the fire as it would be wrong to monetise the tragedy.

Palette Scraps Series (Ongoing)

Palette Scraps #13, Chaz Howkins, 2017, acrylic on paper 

Palette Scraps #15, Chaz Howkins, 2017, acrylic on paper

Palette Scraps #14, Chaz Howkins, 2017, acrylic on paper 

Palette Scraps #17, Chaz Howkins, 2017, acrylic on paper

Palette Scraps #16, Chaz Howkins, 2017, acrylic on paper

Palette Scraps #18, Chaz Howkins, 2017, acrylic on paper

Palette Scraps #19, Chaz Howkins, 2017, acrylic on paper

Palette Scraps Series (Ongoing)

Palette Scraps #9, Chaz Howkins, 2017, acrylic on paper

Palette Scraps #10, Chaz Howkins, 2017, acrylic on paper

Palette Scraps #11, Chaz Howkins, 2017, acrylic on paper

Palette Scraps #12, Chaz Howkins, 2017, acrylic on paper

Painting End of Semester Review

Five weeks worth of paintings from my painting class, presented for review.

Self Portraits

Untitled (Yellow Selfie), Chaz Howkins, 2017, oil and acrylic on paper

Untitled (Yellow Selfie #2), Chaz Howkins, 2017, oil and acrylic on paper

My first attempts at creating a self portrait using oil paint (acrylic was only used for the backgrounds).

Lineart

Zombie Barbie - Colouring Book, Chaz Howkins, 2017, fine liner on paper

A lineart drawing created to be published in a colouring book by the Curtin Illustration Club.  A challenging drawing to create as I am usually inclined to shade and add tone or colour.

Workshop with Lex Randolph

Not So Cuterus, Chaz Howkins, 2017, pen on paper

Not A Penis, Chaz Howkins, 2017, tights, stuffing and thread.

I attended an artist's talk by Lex Randolph at their exhibition Human Becomings at Paper Mountain which was followed by a workshop with the artist.  We were encouraged to use a range of textiles to create artworks which relate to our own gender identities.  I created a drawing which relates to the idea of my body reminding me of my biological sex, which I can often overlook.  I also created an arm made out of stuffed tights and sewed the words "can always be bigger" into; this is due to my insecurities about my arms and how they are simultaneously my favourite and least favourite feature as I'm well aware that they are far from as toned as they could be. 

Screenshot #5

Screenshot #5, Chaz Howkins, 2017, acrylic on paper and acetate

Another painting using the three dimensional effect of an acetate 'screen' covered in glitch-like paint.

Screenshot #4

Screenshot #4, Chaz Howkins, 2017, acrylic and masking tape on paper and acetate

To create a three dimensional effect, I created a box around my painting made of acetate and painted on it in strips so that the portrait would be distorted differently from different angles.

Care Package

Care Package, Chaz Howkins, 2017, pencil and chalk on padded envelope

Most of the work I've been creating relating to my long distance relationship has centred around glitched screens and digital forms of communication, so I wanted to contrast this by creating a singular realistic portrait related to the rare time that we send each other physical post.

Glass Experiment

Untitled, Chaz Howkins, 2017, acrylic paint on glass

For this piece I smashed the glass and then painted on it and on reflection decided that for the next painting I would paint on the glass first and then smash it.

Phone Call Timeline

Phone Call Timeline, Chaz Howkins, 2017, series of mixed media drawings on paper

Phone Call Timeline, Chaz Howkins, 2017, series of mixed media drawings on paper

Phone Call Timeline is made up of 100 individual drawings.  Each of the drawings are 58x104mm, the exact size of my phone screen, and are based off of screenshots taken while video calling my partner.  I experimented with a range of media and drawing techniques in order to create a variety of glitched effects  The similarity between each drawing and the continuity in size mirrors the mundane frustration of communicating through a tiny screen, having repetitive conversations at a set time each day.