I showed in polytechnic and university galleries before developing Limits of my Language, a meditation on Meccano, that toured public galleries. My early practice, sculpture and drawing, was gallery and exhibition based. But teaching is part of my practice and although I later reduced my time at Chesterfield to concentrate on my own projects, I now work at Sheffield Hallam and teaching remains an important in my career. Art colleges were then thriving creative communities providing support, time and an expectation of personal practice. I count my practice from the first sculpture made during my Foundation course, so 52 years.Īfter studying at Sheffield and Hornsey, and a fellowship and teaching at Exeter, he started work at Chesterfield. School, PreDip (Foundation), DipAD, Exeter Fellowship and straight into practice and teaching. How long have you been practising and by what route did you come to your practice?

And recently I have worked on large arrays of LEDs to create beating and pulsating fields of colour. Brocken Spectre with its interplay between light and mist, places an iridescent glory around the shadow of the viewer’s head and was developed for sacred spaces. Other projects experiment with different types of light. Many of these installations have involved local communities in building, installing or shepherding. Programmable LEDs play an increasingly important role in this work allowing GPS synchronised installations across large landscapes. The light works explore and articulate space on buildings and in landscapes, operating under the cover of dark, revealing what is hidden by the light of day. Both projects gave a contemporary voice to communities within and around a National Park that emphasises an agenda to preserve its past rather than celebrate the present. So, Sites of Meaning, which marked the seventeen entrances to Middleton and Smerrill, was created with local parishioners while in Companion Stones, poets and artists of the Peak District paired historic guide stoops in Derbyshire with contemporary sculptures. The permanent installations are developed with surrounding communities. I am an artist working in rural and public spaces to create permanent installations and temporary light works. Many of my lightworks have been produced in Cumbria. But I trace my interest in landscape and light at night to the Lake District where I have stayed since a child. I moved to Middleton by Youlgrave in 1992 and have a studio nearby. See more of Charles’ work on his website. He continues to work on small projects with local schools and communities. He was a founding member and later Chair of Arts in the Peak and for a short while Chair of the Trustees for the LEVEL Centre in Rowsley. Teaching has always been part of his practice. His work responds to and finds its meaning in its context and location, and often works with local stakeholders – including English Heritage, National Trust, the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, and Peak District National Park Authority – who inform and enrich the final outcomes.

He works in rural and public spaces to create permanent installations and temporary light works. Charles Monkhouse is an artist, curator, and lecturer.

Brocken spectre 1990