Press

Robot featured in an article on childrens workshops at
Baltic Gallery for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK, July 2008

Ten Foot City Magasine, Hull, UK, June/July 08

Feature in BK Magazine, 8th May, 2008

Q & A: James Johnson-Perkins
How does it feel? Nospace Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand

What was your inspiration for the exhibition?
Playing with toy robots and Lego as a child and dancing to disco music. It is also a homage to the 80s ZX spectrums and Commodore 64 computers.

How do you think viewers will react to this exhibition?
I want them to dance along to the music and smile at the videos. If they do this, then I will have succeeded in making a great piece of work. For me, art should be a pleasurable experience and audience participation is key.

Do you think video can get the message across better than a painting or a photograph?
It depends; they each have their own qualities. Paintings and photographs often allow one to have a slower, more contemplative experience. Anyway, I think artists shouldn’t constrict themselves to one media. I like to paint, take photos and draw as well—This exhibition just happens to use video.

Crush Magazine, Thailand, May 2008

The Chroncle, 9/5/08

May 09, 2008
Building on the past
by Andrew Fenwick
The Metro

Reminiscing about childhood is a practice routinely explored by those after a whimsical slice of the past, but it's something not regularly investigated in art. Newcastle-based conceptual artist James Johnson-Perkins is about to change that.

Offering a nostalgic gaze at pop culture, Waygood gallery's artist-in-residence’s new exhibition looks at subject matter related to his adolescent experiences, including Lego models and 1980s computer games and TV programmes.

His debut film, 15, comprises a montage of footage of his life, with 15 seconds filmed every single day throughout 2007. The documentary offers a candid portrait of Johnson-Perkins, reflecting his philosophies on life and art, as well as his personal highs and lows. On a more practical level, it explores how artists' creations are inspired by their environment.

The exhibition will run at Star And Shadow Cinema until May 21, and also features an army of totemic Lego men, scrolling message boards showing jokes and an array of animations using 8-bit computer graphics.

At Sunday’s launch, meanwhile, Johnson-Perkins will spin his favourite 1980s singles wearing an oversized Lego mask. Perhaps childhood memories are worth more than a fleeting look after all?

Relavant Magazine, Barcelona, Spain, March 2008

Fefe Magazine 6th Edition, Rome, Italy, March 2008

Eastern Daily Press, 7/11/07

September 26, 2007
Lego and maths add up to special artwork
by Danielle Beeton
Sunderland Echo

Mathmetician Dr Conor Lawless and artist James Johnson-Perkins at the Rednile Project Space in Nile Street, Sunderland, working on their project using Lego to create art based on maths.

An artist is recalling his childhood as inspiration for his work, using the unlikely combination of Lego and maths.

James Johnson-Perkins is working with bio-mathematician and researcher Conor Lawless to create Lego structures, drawings and films inspired by mathematical principles.The project, designed to express the "beauty and wonder" of mathematical structures, is part of the Rednile Project's New City Programme –an artist-led initiative based at an old factory in Sunniside, Sunderland.

James, 34, said: "As an artist, I make lots of work to do with nostalgia. In the past I have used things like Lego and 80s TV programmes to inspire me, but for this project I decided to do a collaboration using maths as my inspiration."

The project is called I Won The Maths Prize At School, because I really did."I stopped doing maths when I was at college so this project is very much about reconnecting with my younger years."As part of the project, Wearsiders can go to the old factory at 56 Nile Street and view James and Dr Lawless at work.The final pieces will then be displayed in an exhibition at the factory from October 6 to 13.

This is the final project run by Rednile's New City Programme, designed to bring artists to the area, open up art and artists' practices and utilizing unused spaces in the city.Suzanne Hutton, Rednile co-founder, said: "The project has gone really well. We have had a lot of visitors and it has helped to raise the profile of art in the city."The aim is to attract artists to the area and get artists who have graduated from Sunderland University to stay in the area. It's making people think differently about Sunderland and putting the city on the map."

To see James at work, drop into the Nile Street project between 10am and 4pm on October 2-4.The final pieces will be exhibited from October October 6-13, from 10am to 4pm.

The Northern Echo, UK, 19/5/07

The Journal, UK 18/5/07 & 7/3/07

The Chronicle, UK, 18/5/07