This work is a contemporary extension of 17th Century Dutch Vanitas painting, informed by contemporary science in place of religious canon.  

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Objects symbolising wealth, culture, and knowledge are replaced by a single flat surface with graphic livery, referencing industrial or geopolitical insignia with corresponding resources and influence.

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Instead of grinning skulls and wilting flowers, layers of exposed paint and rust-like marks suggest accumulation of experience, decay and the transition from one state to another.  

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The use of salvaged materials and ones that biogenically store carbon is not just sustainable practice, it is conceptually significant, echoing the perpetual reuse and reconfiguration of matter and energy in cosmological systems.

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Joe Hodway (b. 1974, Dubai) is a London based artist with an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art, and a BA in Fine Art Sculpture from University of Wales Institute, Cardiff.

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Informed by contemporary science in place of religious canon, his work explores the transience of form and identity in a similar way to 17th century Dutch vanitas painting.

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He is known for his sustainable practice, combining salvaged post-consumer and post-industrial paints with materials that biogenically store carbon. This methodology deliberately echoes the repurposing of energy and matter in biological and cosmological systems.

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Awards: Best in Show - EAL 2022. RCA President & Vice Chancellor’s Award 2024. Award for Excellence - The Wales Contemporary 2026.

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