top of page

AL HOPWOOD STUDIO

Projects

Over a series of high profile public projects, Al Hopwood has explored the edges of storytelling in ways that are both playful and serious. He's interested in the psychological impact of the fictive - both its cathartic potential and its darker tendencies. By exploring what happens when a fiction is believed and how it impacts on the individuals and communities who harbour those beliefs, his work considers how the ‘false’ can shift our behaviours. Follow the links below to find out more.

False Memory Archive

Al Hopwood created the False Memory Archive during a residency at the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths in 2011. It has since grown into an ongoing international touring exhibition, a scientific paper, a book, a music project and conference series. Works include a series of collaborations with cognitive psychologists and a collection of 'non-believed' memories submitted by the public. Visit the False Memory Archive website

WITH (withyou.co.uk)

Al Hopwood has worked under the guise of the fictional art collective 'WITH' since 2003, creating playful conceptual artworks through a series of Solutions. Whether creating evidence of a happier (or more traumatic) past, playing out a worst case scenario or exercising on your behalf, WITH claim to offer their clients "time-saving solutions for personal growth and individual development". Project partners have included Tate Britain, ICA London, Hayward Gallery, Mona Tasmania and Chapter Cardiff. Visit the WITH website to make your way through the solutions and to see documentation of past WITH exhibitions and performances.

Smoke and Mirrors: The Psychology of Magic

Al Hopwood was awarded a Wellcome Engagement Fellowship in 2014 and the result was Smoke and Mirrors - a major exhibition project he initiated and co-curated (with Honor Beddard) at Wellcome Collection in 2019. The exhibition explored the psychology of magic through a collection of artefacts gathered from the history of magic, spiritualism and psychology. More

WITH TV

In late 2021 Al Hopwood launched a new project called WITH TV where you can commission him to create a film that fictionalises an experience from your past. The Storyboard service is currently available with The Short and The Feature launching later this year. Visit the WITH TV website for more.

The Museum of Revelatory Fakes (MoRF)

Al Hopwood is currently developing a new exhibition project with sociologist Patricia Kingori (Professor of Global Health at Oxford University) that explores the use-value and future of fakery in our so-called misinformation age. More

Temporary Chroma Key Memorials

Al Hopwood was commissioned by Wellcome Collection in 2021 to create a new series of photographs and a script for a fictional podcast. See the project at the Wellcome Collection website.

Healthy Scepticism Project

Between 2020-21 Al Hopwood was a remote artist in residence on the Healthy Scepticism Project run by the historian Dr. Caitjan Gainty at Kings College London. The work was a creative response to the various challenges of the pandemic. You can see his response to the project here.

The Ethics of Deception

Al Hopwood wrote a six part essay series for Wellcome Stories in 2019 about the various uses of deception in art, science and popular culture and asked whether such activity can still be justified in light of our so-called misinformation age. The series can be read here

bottom of page