Mike Chavez-Dawson

Artist Statement

Mike Chavez-Dawson is sometimes based at Rogue Artists’ Studios, Manchester, UK.

“An increasing trait in my work sees us continually plundering ‘art's’ constructed mythologies whilst being drawn to the esoteric, and the mania of the artistic process. This mania - often sees us unravel ones hidden mental health, and cognitive diversity as a double edge sword."

Mike Chavez-Dawson is an artist, curator often based at Rogue Artists’ Studios, Manchester, UK.

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Chavez-Dawson’s interdisciplinary practice reworks the visual language of art history and cultural institutions as a tool to de-code the structures of cultural reverence and the role of the artist as mischief maker, rule breaker and activist.

His collaborations are based on a shared interest in belief and power systems that explore themes of value, meaning, and cultural creative conviction.

://: Below are a set of fragmented thoughts - in and around my work/practice. ://:

“Yet it is the multitude of art ecologies (galleries, museums, institutes, project spaces, artist-led initiatives both commercial and non-commercial, etc.) and their agency as [being] custodians for modes of critical engagement and valuing cultural pursuits, and their ability to propose questions that is at the heart of both my solo and collaborative endeavours.

“However, it is the continual habit of cross-referencing a variety of disciplines, narrative structures and interpretative motifs that invigorates both my works and methods — that seek to question the interplay between where an artwork begins and where it ends or, more succinctly, where its legacy and parameters are located.

“These parameters are pushed, pulled and reassembled in each presentation of our work, seeking to harness the ‘process-led’ nature of art production - so terms such as ‘propositional’, ‘multi-part’ and ‘durational’ become ways to describe what is presented, but also as an attempt to consistently present a unique work.

“Continuing the legacy of going beyond the familiar outputs of digital, video, installation and performance, my choices of materials and media for sculptural and 2D-based works include reclaimed office furniture, closed-down libraries’ desks, chalkboards, shelving, old publications, point-of-sale ephemera, signage (posters, flyers, vinyl), household paint, craft card, children’s poster paints, rugs, chairs, marine ply, veneers, OSB Board, neon acrylic, laser etching. These materials are often imbued with various modes of commerce, knowledge exchange and storage, DIY, early creative craft, and institute interpretation material.

"The provenance of the materials used, the methods of production and the collaborators utilised in the works construction are implicit in both the myth and meaning of the work.

“The increasing trait in my work sees us continually plundering ‘art's’ constructed mythologies whilst being drawn to the esoteric, and the mania of the artistic process.

This mania - often sees us unravel ones hidden mental health, and cognitive diversity as a double-edged sword, as I seek to both navigate and harness my OCD, ADHD and Dyslexic tendencies."

Mike Chavez-Dawson, 10/22