News Stories

Library: 18 April 2015

COVER TO CANVAS ARTIST OF THE DAY – Joby Hickey, Photographer and Painter

COVER TO CANVAS ARTIST OF THE DAY – Joby Hickey, Photographer and Painter

Joby Hickey is an artist that inspires play and experimentation. He creates little private worlds with his art that transports the viewer, and perhaps he lives in these very worlds while creating them!

His exhibition piece is called ‘Lapérouse in Japan’

It is based on an etching in a book in the King’s Inns Law Library entitled ‘Le Japon Illustre’ …Humbert Tome II. Lapérouse was a French naval explorer who navigated his way through what is now named the Lapérouse Straits. He was the first European to go to Japan in over 50 years.

Joby explains what it was about this particular book and etching that spoke to him…

My father spoke Japanese and made Japanese food for the occasional Japanese guests, he also produced endless amount of etchings based on the wood block techniques. So when the book opened on the page I based my piece on I thought it was a fitting choice to make it three dimensional and shine a light on the composition.

I lived on various Greek islands for several years as a child and always lived a stones–throw from the piers/fishing ports, when I saw the etching I felt a connection to the water and it’s close proximity to the houses, and the feel of life so close to the water.  What I created for the ‘Cover to Canvas’ exhibition is slightly influenced by a D.W Griffith film ‘Broken Blossoms’, a 1919 silent film that begins in the orient and its photographic wash was green, giving it a very otherworldly dream like quality.

WANT TO SEE JOBY’S’S WORK? COME ALONG TO OUR EXHIBITION. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JOBY HICKEY’S WORK, VISIT OUR LIBRARY EXHIBITION PAGE.