Dana Hawkes was born in 1976 and grew up on Salt Spring Island, BC. He has a Diploma in Craft and Design (2003) from the Kootenay School of the Arts, Nelson, and a BFA (2006) from Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver. After moving to Vancouver to attend Emily Carr, Dana has continued working and living in the city, running a successful art studio and exhibiting his work.
Dana’s process incorporates painting, sculpture, and photography. His work starts with making small sculptures of found objects, casting them in resin, and then photographing them in various low light circumstances that allow him to draw with light. These photographic compositions are then used to inspire a painting.
Dana’s work questions the concept of utility in objects, in particular those that are two-dimensional and abstract.