Better Days, Thomas Hedger
Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m a London based visual artist, my work is often bold and colourful but I love looking for the balance between loud and ambient. I’m interested in abstracting the playful from the everyday almost overlooked moments of life, but also in not hiding from the softer more intimate ones, trying to capture something relatable - human.
What, or who, influence your creative style and/or ethos?
My art world love is painting, I’m drawn to pieces that aren’t afraid to use colour. Growing up in a grey industrial town the art world was an escape into colour, it’s influenced me to play and find unique combinations. I want to use colour and drawing as a medium that can communicate beyond the conventional outlets, I hope that through experimenting and pushing my practice I can do this.
What is something that we wouldn’t know about you?
I love taking a hillside walk, looking at the lost art in the landscape. I think a lot can happen if you give yourself time to think.
Talk us through your design process, from the initial idea to finished piece.
I’m quite a rapid prototyper, really eager to get stuck into a drawing and to see how it starts to form. I mean sure, I scribble down notes and shapes along the way, but there’s niceness in using the digital canvas as a place to create ideas too.
What is your biggest art pet peeve, and why?
Creases or kinks in paper, from rubbings out or dropping the thing to how the way some people hold it!
What are you most excited about at the moment?
The art scene! It’s slowing moving closer to becoming a fair and inclusive platform. It’s developed the last few years to show the world the importance of art and now it’s growing to show the importance of the artists. I’m excited to see how it progresses and I look forward to seeing the work that is produced.
Let’s talk more about A Decade of Change. What drew you to collaborate with us on this project?
The freedom in being able to create a personal experience. Personal work is integral to my practice, it gives a space to be confident in experimenting but it doesn’t always have an outlet. This project is refreshing in that it asked artists to be introspective but outward-facing.
What’s the message behind your piece in the collection, and what does it mean to you? What would you like to change over the new decade?
This piece is all about better days. Over the years the planet has suffered and globally is suffering, 'Better Days' is about optimism, but it’s not just about the big picture - individually, there are hardships too. 'Better Days' is also about the personal and how maybe in 2020 there can be fewer tears.