Next Level:
Dominic Hawgood - Casting Out the Self
12 July - 13 October 2019
Opening Thursday 11 July from 17.30 hours onwards

In this exhibition, titled Casting Out the Self, Hawgood visualises the effect of the drug dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which he personally experienced as a transfer into the digital realm. His work creates a hallucinatory effect: photographs seem to move, flat surfaces reveal hidden depths, and the perception of space turns out to be an illusion. Hawgood researches and appropriates elements of computational photography into his work, leading into intriguing site-specific installations and sculptural elements that refer to both spiritual ceremonies and the digital rituals of computer graphics. Through lighting design, Hawgood creates a unique atmosphere that transforms the exhibition space into a twilight zone between physical and digital reality. Hawgood not only pushes the boundaries of the medium of photography but also expresses a highly innovative approach to exhibition design.

In the ceremonial atmosphere of the exhibition, spirituality is endowed with digital features so that digital reality also appears to be idolised. In this way, Hawgood accurately captures the ambivalence of the digital world we live in: the magic of infinite possibilities contrasts sharply with our brief attention span, information overload, persistent distraction, loneliness and seclusion.

Since 2015, Foam presents the exhibition series Next Level, with the support of Ammodo. The series is aimed at introducing the wider public to innovative art by relatively young artists who are making radically new use of the medium of photography. After the first series in which four Dutch artists were presented Dominic Hawgood is the first international artist in the follow-up series of Next Level.

Next Level: Dominic Hawgood – Casting Out the Self is made possible by Ammodo and the Gieskes-Strijbis Fonds. Foam thanks Stichting Foam Friends and Foam Fund for their generous support of this exhibition.

Foam is supported by the BankGiro Loterij, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, City of Amsterdam, Foam Members, Olympus and the VandenEnde Foundation.