C.P. Fail, 2008 Single-channel video, audio and mixed-media installation Photo by David Miller
“Now that it is complete, when I look at this labyrinthine experience, this dreamlike journey, it speaks to the modern conditions of anxiety, depression and addiction. These are things I was not consciously putting into the work, but now, when I go through it, I really feel this melancholy, this sense of waiting, and sense of sadness and nostalgia. I never would have guessed that these sensations would come out of what started as a dream about a house.” In the future, Hoffos sees his illusion techniques moving from the gallery to the stage – expanding to dance, theatre and even rock shows. And the possibility of pursuing a childhood dream to create a feature film always lingers in the background.
“Right now that project is still a fantasy,” says Hoffos. “But a lot of my work has come from dreams, so who knows?”
David Hoffos: Scenes from the House Dream initially premiered in Lethbridge, Alta. at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery (SAAG). It is currently on a three-year tour that includes the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax and the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art in Toronto. Read more about David Hoffos, including the many rejections he faced, his advice for emerging artists, his experiences at the U of L and the ways in which he gives back through workshops for high-school students. Visit: ulethbridge.ca/unews
Overpass, 2007 2-channel video, audio and mixedmedia installation Photo by David Miller
Bachelor’s Bluff, 2005 Collection of the MacKenzie Art Gallery 2-channel video, audio and mixedmedia installation Photo by David Miller
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