Hurvin Anderson print acquired for Jerwood Collection

Jerwood Collection continues to grow with new acquisitions and recently He's Upstairs, 2023 by Hurvin Anderson (b. 1965) has joined the Collection.

 

This etching, woodblock and screenprint is based on Hurvin Anderson's series of paintings, Peter's Series, in which he depicted the interior of a barbershop. Hurvin Anderson, who was born in Birmingham to Jamaican parents, has said about the spaces that barbershops inhabit: 'it is not only a personal space loaded with imagery, but it also bears the stamp of political, economic and social history'.

 

In He's Upstairs, Hurvin Anderson has focused on the architectural qualities of the room and, although human presence is implied in the title, no figure is depicted. Instead the space has been distilled into geometric shapes which are described through the different printing techniques used.

 

The print demonstrates Hurvin Anderson's interest in the intersection of figuration and abstraction as well as his fascination with the spaces within which barbershops were situated. He has said, 'I imagine many Jamaicans created spaces like this when they had their first homes. An attic, a cellar, a box room, a garage turned into somewhere where you can supplement your income. It becomes a little piece of back home, a place to raise some funds and a place to socialise, all these needs packed into one space.'

 

July 5, 2024