Art is forever changing and adapting to the times, artists are constantly striving to stay relevant in the fast-paced society we live in today. A new and exciting era of art has emerged in the past few years. Creativity is unlimited in the sense that artists no longer care about the rules because there shouldn’t be any. Modern art is taking on a form of its own and an artist at the forefront is Tom Pope.

Tom Pope is a British Postwar & Contemporary experimental artist. Now based in Hastings on the South coast of England, Tom resided in London for a number of years. The imaginative artist graduated with a Masters in Photography from the Royal College of Art in 2011, after having won a grant from winning the Deutsche Bank Award that led to his first performance called “Time Bound”. This art piece consisted of him placing a grandfather clock on a hearse and transporting it from Golden Square London to CERN, near Geneva. After which he buried the clock at the central point of the Large Hardron Collider, where a funeral took place. This particular project sought to explore the concept that everyone has a relationship with: time. 

Tom has participated in exhibitions here in the UK, as well as overseas, in many parts of Europe and the States. He has held solo shows at prestigious locations such as the Tate Britain in London and at Frieze in Los Angeles. “One Square Club” is another of Tom’s most admired pieces. Based in central London, the art piece was comprised of one square metre premises offered premium facilities, including a bar and events such as live music and live comedy. The club was built in a wooden shipping crate, which allowed for it to travel to different cities and even other countries.  Prospective members could request a location of their choice for One Square Club during the application process. A membership at One Square Club lasted for one day. The membership fee being influenced by the average market value of purchasing one square metre of property at the prospective members' requested location. Meaning you could request the Club to travel to a specific location anywhere in the world, which would influence the price of your membership. The inspiration for this project came from looking at the astronomical cost of just one square foot of property in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Tom informed me that “the installation was shipped to Frieze Los Angeles, where hundreds queued for several hours, often not even being aware of what they were waiting for. The sense of excitement and exclusivity kept them going”.

Tom began his career fresh out of university when he would often create his work in public places. Whether it was taking photos or creating films he was no stranger to onlookers. Through this, he noticed an unconscious audience. An audience that watched but more often than not, wouldn’t understand what was happening. “I loved the idea that people didn’t get it, and played on the concept that we as Brits have the tendency to cross the street when we see something unusual or unconventional”. Tom went on to say that as time has gone on he himself has become more conscious of the audience and the fact people do sometimes want to get involved, resulting in some of his work becoming more participatory. 

While the past two years have been strenuous, to say the least, on artists and creatives alike, Tom managed to persevere. During the first lockdown, the ingenious artist created an “Art Workout”. Encompassing workouts inspired by some of his inspirations within the art world. Tom would take paintings and sculpture work by the likes of Marina Abramovic and Marcel Duchamp and create workout routines influenced by them. When asked about how he came up with this concept Tom responded with “it had probably been going around in my head for about five years. I really enjoy circuits, not doing them necessarily but the concept of them, possibly because you do something for less than a minute and then move on. I just thought whether this could be translated into the art world and if so, in what case and what format?”. Having always had an interest in art education, Tom liked the idea of linking art and exercise to stimulate students creativity. “It was never intended as a workshop or live performance in a gallery. I think if you had put it into a gallery and asked the audience to participate, their consciousness might have made them nervous and therefore not ending up involving themselves”. Tom had put the idea to bed for this reason, but with the beginning of the lockdown era, he was pitched with a complex project to do through a live stream and immediately knew exactly what he was going to do. The project allowed people to get involved without the feeling of scrutiny and insecurity as you were participating in the comfort of your own home.

So what’s next for Tom Pope? “Having been the recipient of the a-n Artist Bursaries in 2020, I’ve spent this year creating as much as possible. “A collection I’m particularly proud of is ‘Break Shot’, during these creations I relied heavily on the use of blue. Something I would like to continue into next year as I enjoyed the process a lot”. Tom’s work is currently being displayed in various places both here in London and abroad. When asked about what he would say to young people of this generation looking to break into the art industry, “I would say, just be authentic with your art and use any negative criticism to your advantage. In this day and age, the use of social media is vital as well, don’t be afraid to promote your art because it’s one of the most important ways of being recognised in the industry today”.

You can find more of Tom Pope’s work through his website www.tompope.co.uk as well as his Instagram account: @tom__pope.