Meet the artist — Robert Pereira Hind
Having already enjoyed a successful career in commercial photography, spanning 20 years and two continents, Robert Pereira Hind’s fine art practice has taken off since a solo show in 2014.
His mixed media series ‘Out of Eden’ is minimal and striking. These works are perfect in any setting, being luxurious and beautifully decorative. They are created by overlaying the photograph onto gilded backgrounds.
An important element of the work is that each piece, over many years will slowly oxidise and mature in appearance. The golden background will eventually take on a light and very beautiful tarnish and become increasingly atmospheric and characterful looking like nature against a moody sky.
Robert begins by applying sheets of gold leaf by hand onto board, which is then covered with a layer of shellac. Ink pigment is encouraged to come away from specialist paper and the photographic ink is transferred onto the gold. Through a series of compositional adjustments and collage techniques, each piece is unique. Once the composition is complete it is then covered in glaze and cured for several days, before being ready to display. The complex nature of this process means that each piece is made to order, to a unique composition, resulting in no two artworks being the same.
By capturing trees such as cherry and Scots pine, together with wild flora, Robert endeavours to represent their solitude. He initially emulated the practice of botanical illustrators, whereby subjects are commonly positioned centrally on the canvas. He now often chooses to root the trees towards the lower part of the board, introducing birds to the absent space above.
Inspired by Buddhist and Byzantine art he began working with gold leaf to venerate the value of nature. By overlaying the photograph onto a gilded background, Robert skilfully elevates the tree - something we look at every day but never truly see - to something stunning and divine.
