Dunhill and O’Brien have been working collaboratively since 1998 following what was intended to be a one off collaborative project, PLOT, at Cable Street Gallery, London. Some years on and they are still exploring the dilemmas and possibilities of collaboration.
Based in London, UK, they have exhibited in galleries and project spaces in the UK, Ireland, Holland, Italy, Germany and Japan. Their shared preoccupation with making, material, and the troubling logistics of sculpture – how it is packed, moved, stored and disposed of – has led to residencies in a range of contexts including the British School at Rome, inner city Stoke on Trent and the European Ceramic Work Centre s’Hertogenbosch, Holland. Their quest to find a way of working that bypasses their individual taste has led to a somewhat restless practice involving elaborate strategies, kinetic elements and at times the input of teams of participants. Research has included visiting 19th century Fuji like mounds in the Tokyo region, advertising as artists who dig holes for free in Holland, visiting ‘celebrity’ rocks around the UK and interviewing dentists, boulderers, bakers and others who employ tactile knowledge.
Mark Dunhill graduated with an MA in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art, London in 1977. Tamiko O’Brien graduated with an MA in Sculpture from Chelsea College of Art, London in 1989. Alongside their art practice they have both worked in Higher Arts Education. Dunhill was Dean of Arts at Central Saint Martins (University of the Arts London) until 2017. O’Brien was Principal at City & Guilds of London Art School between 2014 and 2022.
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