About
Light in space and spatial mark-making raise questions about how we perceive and engage with dimensional images and flat drawings.
I have always been fascinated by the way objects and structures (mostly manufactured) affect or manipulate light as it falls on, passes through, or reflects from them.
Early works consciously harnessed projected light and manipulated it to produce sculptural installations. Objects that appeared to be three-dimensional could be walked around – or through – but did not physically exist. Many of these early studio and gallery installations resulted in kinetic drawings: dimensional translations synthesised from flat information.
A natural progression led to holography and its ability to record and replay light in its own terms.
Although drawn to the high-fidelity three-dimensional quality of holograms – the phenomenon that first attracted me to the medium – I wanted to use the process as more than a recorder, more than a facsimile.
Later works introduced drawn information occupying a visual space between the observer and the surface of the work, while a series of pieces has explored questions around framing and presentation.
Several works have questioned the traditional wall-based display format, developing site-specific installations that use the gallery floor and the junction between floor and wall as the framing device.
Background
Andrew Pepper has exhibited works with holography, projected light and installation in both group and solo shows internationally..
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours in Fine Art, a Master of Fine Art degree, and a Doctor of Philosophy awarded for research into Fine Art Holography. He is a Fulbright Scholar and a Lionel Robbins Memorial Scholar.
Over a period of more than 30 years he has presented lectures about his work at art and design schools, served as a visiting lecturer in Fine Art at UK universities, and was Head of First Year Fine Art in the School of Art and Design at Nottingham Trent University.
He began publishing about his work while still a student and has presented papers on the development of creative holography at international conferences.
As Director of the Shearwater Foundation and The International Holography Fund, he helped distribute over one and a half million dollars in funding to artists, cultural groups and projects working with creative holography.
He founded and edited The Creative Holography Index: The International Catalogue for Holography, which highlighted work by artists using holography and commissioned a number of articles on the subject.
Detailed Biography
Andrew Pepper studied Fine Art in the UK, where he began working with projected light and three-dimensional light installations. During this period, he saw his first hologram in Paris, at an exhibition at the American Cultural Centre in the city. With an eye on postgraduate study, and needing a portfolio that accurately represented his current work, he felt that this visual technique would be an ideal process to document his light and projection installations in three dimensions.
Accessing holography proved more challenging than expected, and he reverted to video and photography as a means of documentation for his postgraduate applications. After securing a place on the MFA course at the University of Reading—where he continued to research spatial mark-making and projected light installations—he moved to New York and spent two years at the Museum of Holography in Manhattan as a Fulbright Scholar. It was there that he learned how to make holograms at New York Holographic Labs. It was some time before he felt comfortable with the medium, wanting to find an alternative to the basic (but impressive) three-dimensional effect that had first attracted him to it.
On returning to the UK in 1982, he began lecturing and writing on creative holography and produced his own work, which has since been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions worldwide. He also completed a PhD in Fine Art Holography—the first to be awarded by the Fine Art Department at the University of Reading and an early example of a practice-based doctorate. Based on this early research and current practice, he has acted as an external supervisor for several PhDs exploring the creative and critical use of holography within the visual arts.
In 1988 Pepper was awarded a Lionel Robbins Memorial Scholarship, enabling him to continue his PhD research and carry out extensive investigations in a specially built holography studio at the University of Reading.
In 1991 he moved to Cologne to take up a five-year post at the newly established Academy of Media Arts which, as part of its studio activities, offered holography within its Media Arts Department.
During this period in Germany, he was able to realise a project developed over several preceding years: the founding of The Creative Holography Index: The International Catalogue for Holography – a monthly part-work published for collection in a specially produced binder. It provided a high-quality record of artists working in the medium and commissioned a number of leading writers to present their views on developments in the field.
While at the Academy, he was introduced to the Internet and World Wide Web (it had just become accessible around this time) and eventually began to ‘translate’ the publication into a digital format, making it accessible to a wider audience. He has maintained a strong interest in digital publishing and has delivered papers on the subject at international conferences.
In 1996 he returned to the UK to organise and co-chair Art in Holography 2, a major international symposium at the University of Nottingham, which attracted speakers and delegates from across the world to examine and challenge the creative and critical engagement of artists using holographic processes.
From 1999 to 2004 he directed the Shearwater Foundation Holography Programme, established by Posy Jackson in 1987. Each year it provided 100,000 US dollars to support and encourage creative holography, and honoured several artists with the annual Holography Award, recognising outstanding contributions to the field.
Between 2007 and 2009 he directed the International Holography Fund, established to continue the work of the Shearwater Foundation, which during its operational life supported a wide range of creative holography projects worldwide.
Pepper spent more than two decades as a visiting lecturer in Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University, later becoming a full-time Senior Lecturer and Head of First Year Fine Art. He maintained a particular interest in students’ transition into university life, with emphasis on the challenges encountered by new entrants to Fine Art study. He was an Admissions Tutor (for international and non-standard applications) and trained as an Advanced Personal Tutor. He also taught Fine Art at the University of Lincoln and has contributed to professional development modules in Fine Art at the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University’s Hive Start To… and Summer School programmes.
Works with holography, projected light, installation and spatial drawing.
Publications exploring the cultural impact of holography in the visual arts.