Thomas Houseago: When art and life blurred together, a biographical tribute

A text written in response to the idea of the artist as a fictional being that needs an underlying myth in order for a wider understanding of the artist and their work to be achieved. This text further cemented the idea that semi-fictional narratives could be developed out of real experiences, and that in doing this more effective communication could be developed with both specialist and non art audiences. The text was written for the catalogue of first large retrospective exhibition of the work of Thomas Houseago and was written directly in response to real experiences. A mythic narrative was developed to take the original experience and to mould it into a story that now had traction as an idea of what as an artist Houseago could now be. His Yorkshire roots highlighted and developed as a grand narrative that could support the ‘weight’ of his current practice. The text was peer reviewed by the Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris editors as well as by Thomas Houseago himself. This aspect of my narrative practice continues the stories begun in the book ‘Art and Fiction’ and has been revisited several times since, including the Library Interventions project, the exhibition ‘Insidious Materials’ and the stories told in conjunction with the Henry Moore Institute performance event, Tales from a Sculpture City