James Howden makes violent objects
James Howden is fitting for our publication’s first artist feature as his work shares some conceptual continuity with the work of Pino Pascali, a main proponent of the Art Povera movement — from which this Publication takes its name. However whilst Pascali’s large fabrications of military weapons (painted green like the plastic soldiers) were more a reflection on his childhood experience of world war 2, James Howden’s work is much more about our social and cultural relationship with war and violence.
My work highlights political and social tensions in the public domain through the use of humour. The work identifies and attacks societal issues such as violence and war, childhood and the environment.
— James Howden, 2015
His work grapples with the notion of violence in a way which is both critical, sarcastic and playful. It directly references childhood and the strange double standard our society displays in toy shop windows. Simultaneously it condemns violence and also exhonerates it.
Because his art embraces play in such a childlike manner the violence of the objects becomes subtly shocking, especially when exhibited as Art objects. The apparent naivety of the work encourages an openness in the viewer as if these children’s toys are not capable of offending us. We forget that they are simulacra of machines, machines intended to kill, to end life.
If art is play and we are playing some sort of Wittgensteinian, game, what is the conclusion to this game? What are we to do, when from a young age we are given replica weapons, to pretend to kill other children?
Our culture is largely desensitised to this fact, we spent too much time playing shoot-em-up video games and playing ‘armies’ to realise that this behaviour acts as a mandate for the state to carry out very real wars. With very real consequences.
To quote Marx:
‘History repeats itself first as tragedy second as farce.’
James Howden’s work reminds us of the absurdity of our present socio/political condition and forces us to confront how macabre our position really is. It does all this through what feels like a sustained and ominous dark joke.
But of course:
‘In eternity there is no time, only an instant long enough for a joke.’
― Hermann Hesse, Steppenwolf
Perhaps James’ work makes it apparent that we as children often experience war and violence first absurdly as farce. It is only later, with adult understanding that we can see conflict for what it really is: tragedy.
You can see more of James’ work here:
All images courtesy of the Artist.
Additional text by Sam Wood
