250mc Artist research – Tom Hunter.

by gabriellefulton

Tom Hunter is a London based photographer who photographs the area where he lives and people within the immediate community. Most of his work is based in Hackney where he focuses on subjects of local issues such as squatters and the post industrial landscape before the Olympics arrived in the area.

What perhaps Hunter is more commonly known for is his referencing to famous paintings within the majority of his work. As seen below in one of his most famous photographs ‘Woman Reading a Possession Order’  where he refers to Deutsch artist Johannes Vermeer’s piece – ‘A Girl Reading At a Open Window.’

 And again in the painting on the left is called ‘Christina’s world’ by Andrew Wyeth (1948) and Hunter’s image on the right ‘Anchor and Hope’ (2009)

Hunter refers to these paintings from the past whilst still focusing on the modern day issues, the connotations of the past and present is something I want to create within my work and Hunter is an incredible example of how not to over do the images by trying to re-create the exact scene. Yes, in many of photographs the subjects are posed the same way and in some cases wearing similar clothes but it is the change to a present location that changes the view on it being a ‘copy’ of the paintings. This is something I want try and achieve in my final images as I am wanting to bring something from the past into today’s society.