Mark Titchner (1973 – )

Mark Titchner was born in Luton in 1973. He attended Hertfordshire College of Art and Design from 1991 – 92 before going on to study at Central St Martins College of Art and Design from 1992 – 95. He lives and works in London.

Titchner’s work explores faith and belief systems. He works in a range of media from sculptures to installations, digital print to video. A central feature of his work is the use of found text, which Titchner lifts from a wide range of material such as corporate manifestos, adverts, song lyrics and philosophy. Each chosen slogan demands the viewer’s attention, often calling for action or reflection as in The Future Demands Your Participation (2006). The text, now out of context from its original source, lacks its original meaning yet urges the viewer to engage and have some sort of transcendence without really knowing why or what for. Titchner’s distinctive graphic style also has an hallucinatory quality and is made all the more hypnotic by being illuminated in a light box, just as you might find an advertisement at a bus stop, exploring the different ways in which people receive thoughts and ideas.

Titchner was a Turner Prize nominee in 2006 for his solo exhibition at Arnolfini, Bristol in the same year. Other solo exhibitions include Run, Black River, Run, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, 2008 and Be Angry But Don’t Stop Breathing, Art Now, Tate Britain, London, 2003. Group shows include the British Art Show 6, which toured in 2005, Surfacing, Institute of Contemporary Art, London,1998 and LIFE/LIVE, ARC, Museum of Modern Art, Paris 1996.

Made in Britain Contemporary Art from the British Council Collection 1980-2010,China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Publishing Corporation 2010. ISBN 978-7-5059-7014-4.