CREATING FUTURES EXHIBITION
ARTS, HERITAGE AND COMMUNITY
Mapping Suprematism is a modern-day artistic exploration of the early twentieth-century Suprematist movement. The intention is not to follow the movement’s original ideology but to utilise its visual style to design abstract maps.
Many of the maps on this site are inspired by journeys I’ve taken and hold special significance.
I first encountered Suprematism around 2009-2011 while studying graphic design. As a visual style it appealed to me, although it wasn’t until 10 years later in 2021 that I started to develop my art.
Portsmouth - Watercolour - Aug 22
Confectionery Caper - Watercolour - Feb 2022
A Day at the Park - Watercolour - Jan 22
London South Bank - Watercolour - Jan 22
Winter Wonderland - Watercolour - Dec 21
Hackney Wick - Watercolour - Dec 21
Bermondsey Triangle - Watercolour - Dec 21
Road to Angels - Watercolour - Dec 21
HOW IT BEGAN
November 2021, sitting at home with a cup of tea. From the bookshelf I pull out Revolution: Russian Art 1917–1932 to look through with my girlfriend Olga. I purchased the book from the Royal Academy of Arts when I visited the 2017 exhibition of the same name. I’d only briefly flicked through the pages in the four years that had followed, my knowledge of Russian art being somewhat limited. Olga, however, was able to provide more context to the featured works. So we flicked through the whole volume discussing each piece and picking our favourites.
Inside the book, Kazimir Malevich, the founder of the Suprematist movement, is a key feature. The book showcases some of his most famous examples of Suprematism and earlier works. Seeing these pieces reminded me of my degree years when I was first introduced to Suprematism and its offshoot - Constructivism. The style captivated me back then and still captivates me today.
A week or so later I tried creating some Suprematist art. I soon discovered that achieving the correct balance of shape within space is much harder than it looks. I needed to find an entry that would allow me to play with the visual style while aiding me with balance.
My first idea was to use the architectural photos I had recently been taking. Architecture often holds a natural balance with strong geometric lines - perfect for manipulating and adding extra simplicity or complexity to the composition.
The second idea came to me while I was driving home from work one evening. What if I use maps, or to be more specific, sections of maps? I could imagine the oft-times chaotic layout of fields in the UK, the extreme grid layout of American cities and all number of natural phenomena that create an endless source of compositions when looked upon from a map’s unique perspective.
Thus, Mapping Suprematism was born.
WHAT IS SUPREMATISM?
Photo of the 1915 ‘0,10 exhibition’ where Kazimir Malevich featured along with other famous Russian artists.
Suprematism is an art movement that was founded by Kazimir Malevich in the early twentieth century. The movement was first publicly announced in 1915 when it was revealed at the 0,10 (zero, ten) exhibition in Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg) where Malevich exhibited alongside other Russian artists.
The Suprematist ideology is formed from the belief that art should be disconnected from the influence of the objective world and instead should be created from artistic feeling. Malevich was heavily influenced by Cubism which he admired for its ability to ‘deconstruct art’.
Suprematism evolved over the next years with other artists using the style to produce political pieces. An example of which is like El Lissitzky’s Constructivist piece “Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge”.
Malevich was eventually banned from producing his abstract art by the Soviet Union under the belief of it being “bourgeois” and that it didn’t reflect social realities. Other critics saw Malevich’s work as the absence of love of life and nature to which Malevich responded by saying that art can develop for art’s sake and that ‘art does not need us, and it never did.’
Suprematism isn’t as widely known as other twentieth century art movements although it has been of significant influence. The Bauhaus and De Stijl movements were both directly influenced by Suprematism and its routes can be seen throughout the twentieth century and in the minimalism of many modern artistic movements and styles.