A M Hanson

Early life

Born in 1969, adopted and raised in the Yorkshire countryside, near Leeds, in north-east England. His mother, A.A. Hanson (Leeds College of Art), is a potter.

He sang in a church choir (St. Edmund's, Roundhay, c.1980). After schools in Leeds and York, he moved from home at age 17, holding happenings in the basement of a shared house in the Harehills area of Leeds. Around the same time he attended courses with the National Youth Theatre and performed in productions at Leeds University Workshop Theatre. His first exhibited work (photo montages) shown at Leeds City Art Gallery in a group display about new surrealism. He left the formal education system early (after a brief period at a local arts college) and moved to London in 1989. Later that year he travels to Berlin and witnesses and documents the historic collapse of the Berlin Wall.

1990s work

Photo portraiture is first published in i-D magazine (1991) and later in various music, scene and listings publications throughout the early to mid '90s, often using the moniker 'Alex Sparks'. Appears in a French TV commercial (1993), playing a catwalk photographer, for a Mod's Hair product. He made film stills and appeared in the award-winning short A Smashing Night Out (dir: M. Glamorre, 1994 BBC 10 x 10 series). His social and performance based photo series includes an early picture of designer Alexander McQueen on the verge of fame, alongside other progressive characters, at a time when London was witnessing the so-called Brit Art Brit Pop cultural explosion. Selected work from this period also later featured in QueerNation, a large 20th-century group retrospective of polysexual London nightlife (Elms Lesters Painting Rooms, London 2002). He was the only photographer to record performance artist and cultural icon Leigh Bowery's legendary last show at the Freedom Cafe in London in late 1994. Some of the work was later exhibited (including at The Fine Art Society, London 1995) and published, firstly in the 1998 monograph Leigh Bowery prompting publisher Robert Violette to say that the photographs; "represent a crucial, defining moment of London in the 1990s". An audio/visual book, featuring collaborations between artists and musicians, We Love You shows his print work, of Bowery's Minty collaborator Richard Torry and his Soho living studio space, alongside that of more established art world figures such as Gilbert & George, Marc Quinn and Tracey Emin (credits appear as Alex Mark Hanson called Simon, a play on all his names).

Towards the end of the 1990s and onwards Hanson's practice begins to develop into wider concepts, though mainly centred around counter culture city life and use of spaces, and display formats including installation and site-specific work. He also performs actions or songs with The Offset and The Paper People collectives, a performative object side-kick character Susan Tripod is first shown in his flat and then at LUX Centre (London, 1998). Works on paper such as fantasy island maps with related photo ephemera are displayed at Vexed Generation (London, April 1999).

2000's

Throughout the decade print and installation works are shown at home and abroad, including Japan at Rice+ Tokyo 2003, various London galleries and project spaces including; The Centre of Attention 2003, The Photographer's Gallery / group display 2007, Residence Gallery 2008, Wolfgang Tillmans London studio space 2008, Donlon Books 2009, at UK art festivals Hackney Wicked 2008, exhibits across Europe 24London – Milan, Berlin, Barcelona 2006, and in a series of department store windows for t.a.g galleries, Brussels 2009. Alexcalledsimon projects starts to produce and present solo and collaborative works based around a concept 'photo-related family', including Susan Tripod, these are variously exhibited, form part of live events, publications, web based videos or screenings. He appeared in "Battle of the Boutiques" at London Fashion Week (A/W 2004) wearing Missy island drawings evoked as paper hats, paper cut outs from this series form a message trail across the Greek Cyclades islands. His performance associated photo work continued, including studies (often forming extended series) such as of David Hoyle and others at the cutting edge of the avant garde and offshoots of pop culture. Some of this imagery forms photo blogs, other material is published featuring in "Dance Theatre Journal" (vol. 23 No. 1, 2008 UK, Hoyle's Humility cover and lead story images) and Gazelland magazine USA (with display at Leo Kesting Gallery, New York) 2008 and 2009.

2010's

In 2009 he returned to a studio based academic structure, developing new working methods, first at LCC University of the Arts London UAL, then at the University for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, BA (Hons) Fine Art graduating in 2013 with first class honours. New spacial installation work and prints are first shown at various academic spaces and then at Galleria Uno+Uno in Milan (2012). Hanson curated a group test site event at Satellite Festival Whitstable 2012, and several interdisciplinary shows whilst at UCA.

Archive photographs are published in Alexander McQueen: Fashion Visionary and The Life and The Legacy with quotes from the photographer, and alongside another interview text in a biography of the late designer Blood Beneath The Skin, in the German book Leigh Bowery Verwandlungskünstler. Photographs of McQueen are acquired by Central Saint Martins Museum and Study Collection.

In a solo show A Distant, Darkened Lobby at Limbo Arts, Margate 2014 (part of the town and Turner Contemporary's Summer of Colour season), interconnected installations or 'photo sets' comprise oversized layered prints and backlit film, ready made and adapted objects and office furniture with applied transfers, with films. These works reimagine office spaces as fragments of artist's studios, a theme and motif that becomes central to his practice. Some of this work, in a new arrangement, then transferred to Regent's Place Plaza, London 2014, during Frieze Art Fair Week. Collaborative short films and a live video were made with Dale Cornish for the musician's 2014 Xeric recordings (Entr'acte Records). Contributions to group shows include UCA related off site exhibits, touring show Business As Usual at various venues including for North Contemporary 2015 and at Lubomirov / Angus-Hughes Gallery, London 2016. Hanson curates a thematic studios project which first shows as Studio Life Lines in a Docklands atrium as part of Photo Month Festival 2016, with emerging and established artists, film makers and photographers. The project aims to highlight the energy, ideas and productivity of studio situations and systems and their vital role especially in cities.

An evolving group show studio project and shop These Studio Cities is formed in 2017 beginning with prints, works on paper, books and ephemera by a range of British and international studio practitioners based in London and beyond.