B. 1986, Nairobi. Lives and works in London.
Charles Robert Harrison works with painting, sculpture and installation alongside interdisciplinary techniques like documentation, data analysis and experimental design to uncover the fragilities and agilities of perception. Applying theories of affordance, his material distortions of familiar objects and environments explore ethical, social and personal dimensions of public and private action. Past projects playfully observed interactions with street furniture, civic infrastructure and pub toilets whilst current work is particularly concerned with agricultural methods, sanitation, commercial nostalgia and online knowledge sharing.
Charles graduated with a BA in Painting from University of Northampton in 2007. He has exhibited with Jupiter Woods, London, Lifespace, Dundee, Neue Froth Kunsthalle, Brighton and recently completed residencies at Wellcome Collection and Barbican Centre. His artistic methods and conceptual understanding have been shaped through collaboration and interdisciplinary research alongside artists, curators, social scientists, neuropsychologists, motor-neuroscientists and members of rare dementia support groups. These collaborations have particularly focussed on the historical development, values and deficiencies of standardised testing methods and have led to novel social science and arts and health research funded by Wellcome Trust, University College London and the Economic and Social Research Council.
Selected Exhibitions and Events
2019
B18_0103-0107. Barbican Centre, London. October 2019
H2OME TESTING for N — E º W ˝( S ) Seasonal School, Jupiter Woods. London March 2019
Testing Situations. Jupiter Woods, London Jan/Feb 2019
2018
Bollards. Deptford X Fringe, London. September 2018
Created Out of Mind Residency Showcase. Wellcome Collection, London. July 2018
Life at the Edges (Extremophile Conference Performer). Science Gallery, Dublin. June 2018
Overground. Nigel, London. May 2018
Normal? Festival of the Brain. Quarterhouse, Folkestone. May 2018
Conditions for Ongoingness// 1.2 The Gathering. Jupiter Woods, London. March/April 2018
ARUK Reframe Dementia. Oxo Gallery, London. March 2018
Trajectories. Lifespace, Dundee. February-June 2018
Wet Paint on Wall. Various Locations, London. December/January 2018
2017
Pint of Science, Dimensions of Dementia. Studio Spaces, London. October 2017
Refused. Various Locations, London/Brighton. July 2017
The Art of Gesture. Wellcome Collection, London. July 2017
We Are All Involved in this Mess. Enclave Lab, London. April, 2017
2016
Bollards. Upper Brockley Road, London. December 2016
#7. The Koop Project, Brighton. July 2016
Lost in Thought. Science Museum, London. April 2016
Friendship Rules. The Quadrant, Brighton. February 2016.
2015
A Rational Question. TrafalgarWorks, Portslade. June 2015
CRH. TrafalgarWorks, Portslade. June 2015
2014
WP70. Community Arts Centre, Brighton. November 2014
ArtNeuro. The Rag Factory, London. November 2014
Horror Hotel. Ghost Train on the Pier, Brighton. October 2014
WP43. Community Arts Centre, Brighton. May 2014
Important Information. Neue Froth Kunsthalle, Hove. March 2014
2013
Work Programme 17. Community Arts Centre, Brighton. May 2013
2010
Nature:Humanity:Technology. Inham Hall, Wisbech St Mary. June 2010
NEWS
UPCOMING EXHIBITION - POSTPONED
Sandman Mattresses at 61 Rollins Street, London, SE15 1EP.
Sandman Mattresses is an installation and sculptural exhibition created by Teal Griffin and Charles Robert Harrison based (loosely) on mythology surrounding the Sandman. The installation takes the form of a mattress showroom & shopfront and is the culmination of conversations and collaborative making over the last two years.
POSTPONED UNTIL LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS LIFTED
Please contact us at sleepdreams2020@gmail.com to book your time slot.
COVID-19 restrictions apply. Face masks must be worn and you will be asked to sign in on entry.
We will try and accommodate walk-ins.
Co-authored Papers & Press
Mobile Brain-Body Imaging and the Neuroscience of Art, Innovation and Creativity. (book chapter). Springer, November 2019
Conceptualising and Understanding Artistic Creativity in the Dementias: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Research and Practice. Frontiers in Psychology, September 2018.
Exploring dementia through art and science. Fergus Walsh, BBC News, May 2018
Profiles in paint: contrasting responses to a common artistic exercise by people with different dementias. Arts & Health, November 2017
Preparatory planning framework for Created Out of Mind: Shaping perceptions of dementia through art and science. Wellcome Open Research, November 2017
The lines are open: An artist’s experience of working with dementia research. Dementia, October 2017
Forgetting but not gone: dementia and the arts. Philip Ball, The Observer, March 2017
Object & Display. Dupe, The Dark Issue. May 2014
Links & Education
Dementia and the Arts: Sharing Practice, Developing Understanding and Enhancing Lives - Online course
The Many Faces of Dementia - Online Course
Created Out of Mind - Website
Rare Dementia Support - Website