broken rest, 2021, Oil on aluminium, 19.7 x 29.5 in.



lurker, 2021, Oil on aluminium, 26.8 x 32.3 in.




the light you give, 2021, Oil on aluminium, 26 x 24.6 in.




infinity pool 3, 2021, Oil on aluminium, 51 x 36.2 in.

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Xander Hoffman


United Kingdom

I see my work as an exploration into screen-oriented and data based imagery, I amcreating physical records for intangible moments experienced through technology. The moments vary from interactions with computer programmes, to observed moments in film. The transient nature of light-based imagery is of particular interest to me; both in terms of constant technological advancement, and the fluid nature of light as a medium.

   - Excerpt from artist statement


Click works to the left (on desktop) or below (on mobile) to view full-screen.


@xanderhoffman︎   

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What draws you the exploration of light in your work, especially in terms of screens and technology?

Light is a magical; in many ways my work is all about light, I am seeking to crystallise its ethereal qualities. I am drawn to the screen for the same reasons that painters have been drawn to water for centuries. The projected, prismatic light emanating from the screen is mesmeric yet fleeting, like ripples on a body of water.


What is the significance of the materials you use, in terms of achieving a sense of time or weightlessness?

It is central to my work that the way data is stored is not the way it appears to us- a hard drive is not an image, it might contain the instructions to display an image, but what we see is not what the hard drive contains, it is an interpretation. The in-between of the device and what we experience is what drives my work. I paint on aluminium to try and reflect the weightless, intangible quality of what I am experiencing, if it were possible I would like there to only be paint.


How do you land on the subjects or images that you choose? Can they be traced to specific sources?

My work usually starts with images from film, television and videogames that I find myself drawn to, I then reprocess these sampled images in some way, for example distorting with moiré or degrading the image’s quality. These are quirks of technology, I don’t believe painting digital artefacts has to mean recreating rigid, perfectly square pixels, it can be much more nuanced than that. The imagery I use is open to interpretation, once something is recontextualised as a painting the viewer’s interpretation can change, what may start life as a light-hearted or humorous image can become solemn or morbid.