These Facts Will Polish Your Knowledge About Anthea Hamilton

In 2016 British artist Anthea Hamilton installed a giant golden oversized derriere in Tate Modern as her submission for the Turner Prize. She didn’t win, but the work – titled Project For Door – was the most Instagrammed work of the exhibition. Since then, her pracitce has included covering galleries in faux fur, and has seen performers parading museum spaces dressed as gourds.

Hamilton’s current exhibition at Thomas Dane – The Prude – is inspired by the character of Cecil Vyse in E.M. Forster’s classic novel A Room With a View and the gallery has been covered in oversized butterflies and daisies. Here are five facts that you probably didn’t know about Anthea Hamilton:

• Her references include Native American philosophies
  Her installation of “squash” performances in the Duveen Galleries at Tate Britain (2018) were inspired by a photograph taken by Daniel Kramer in 1960 of American choreographer Erik Hawkins dressed in a costume with a gourd on his head, who was inspired by Native American philosophy.

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❤️ Anthea Hamilton The Squash @hamiltonanthea #thesquash ? @tatebritainlondon ❤️❤️❤️ @loewe #antheahamilton #tate #loewe @curamagazine #curamagazine #crocodile ?

A post shared by CURA. (@curamagazine) on Aug 13, 2018 at 10:49am PDT

• She once made a video work inspired by Saturday Night Fever
  In Venice: Exploring Disco, the character of Tony Manero shines throughout. John Travolta’s face appears in almost every frame, along with latex boots and nude women.
  

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Sometimes it is hard to see inside yourself- Art by #antheahamilton #art #sculpture #inside #see
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• She has a long relationship with Jonathan Anderson (J.W. Anderson and Loewe)
  Hamilton made works for a Loewe Foundation project in Miami Design District in 2015 and Loewe designed the costumes for the “squash” performances.
  

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Installation of large soft moth sculpture by Anthea Hamilton at her first exhibition at both London galleries @thomasdanegallery on view until 18 May. . . . #antheahamilton #moth #sculpture #thomasdanegallery #londongallery #art #artinstallation #contemporaryart #modernart #mothonthewall #londonart #artlondon #contemporyartist #freeart #seemoreart #artdaily

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• When she was a child she wanted to be an accountant
  As a kid, Hamilton loved math, and never envisaged that she would become an artist.
  

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Anthea Hamilton – The Prude. #antheahamilton #theprude #antheahamiltontheprude #thomasdanegallery #stjames #london #massivebutterfly #ginormuswingspan
A post shared by Kent Jolly (@cranegirl7) on Apr 18, 2019 at 8:49pm PDT

• She doesn’t think art is necessary
  Despite being a hugely successful artist, Hamilton doesn’t live with any art at all, and she doesn’t believe that we need to either.
  

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Anthea Hamilton⁣, Full Stone Wavy Boot, 2019, dark emperador marble, 23 5/8 x 9 3/4 x 3” @thomasdanegallery, London through May 18.⁣⠀ ⁣⠀ #antheahamilton⁣⠀ #thomasdanegallery

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Anthea Hamilton: The Prude is on view at Thomas Dane in London until 18 May 2019