Feature: Exhibition - London-born, Icelandic dancer Peter Anderson turns his talents to abstract art - Reykjavik Movement at Lauderdale House
Published: 1 April 2010
by DAN CARRIER
IT is a homecoming gig, a return to the place he grew up in. But for dancer Peter Anderson, the exhibition at Highgate’s Lauderdale House doesn’t focus on the art form that has taken him across Europe, dancing at some of the Continent’s most highly regarded venues. Instead, it is another passion of his, namely abstract acrylic painting.
The artist, who grew up in Highgate but now lives in Iceland, says he is never quite sure how his paintings will, turn out – as he uses the same sense of his unconscious to paint as he does when he is dancing.
“I had been doing rather mediocre painting for years and was always frustrated by that. Then I brought physicality into my work,” he says.
Peter cut his teeth at the Weekend Arts College, originally based at Talacre in Kentish Town. And his talent means he has worked as a dancer and a choreographer in France, Germany, Belgium, and for the past 10 years, in Iceland where he is now a key figure in the renowned Iceland Dance Company.
But since 2005, he has turned his creativity to the easel.
He says he draws on the same sort of inspiration as used by the American artist Jackson Pollock.
“A friend of mine was doing an imitation of Jackson Pollock, and I felt there were a lot of possibilities. I stand in front of the canvas and try to paint subconsciously,” he says.
“I put the canvas on the floor and wait for a voice to whisper to me inside. I am constantly chasing after the painting. I think painting and dance come from the same part of the brain – it is just a different way of expressing your creativity.” And he says he finds the time for his art as well as his dance work thanks to one simple fact: “I don’t watch the TV.”
• Reykjavik Movement is at Lauderdale House, Waterlow Park, Highgate Hill, N6, until April 11. 020 8348 8716