Casting Out the Self – Dominic Hawgood

The experience in advertising of artist Dominic Hawgood, who now lives and works in London, is at the origin of his construction of images. Using a similar language in terms of light, digital manipulation and post-production, Hawgood aims to inspect the limits of perceptions, the spiritual/religious ecstasy, and the alterations of the mental status of the individual. The technological development in photographic and video practices of the last decades has a key role in the realisation of his work, as in Casting Out the Self. The series, indeed, compares the images realised with the digital maniputation to the fictional reality that is the effect of the consumption of DMT. DMT is a psychedelic substance that acts directly on the nervous system and was used in shamanic rituals in some areas of South America. The substance is considered to be the key to access the spiritual world, and offers to its user a virtual reality that is not too different from the creations of Computer Generated Imagery programs.

Dominic Hawgood, from Casting Out the Self, 2016

© Dominic Hawgood 2016