Film maker scoops international video award

A County Durhamartist has beaten off competition from around the world to scoop his first international video award.

Gareth Hudson, from Bishop Auckland, was recently awarded the Sphinx prize at the 13th International Videomedeja Festival in Vojvodina, Serbia.

His work, ‘eventually,’ which was shot at Teesdale Indoor Climbing Wall, was described by judges as “excellent, smart and direct” with “a clear visual language which transmits a complex message.”

It was selected from over 50 videos from a total entry of nearly 500 from 59 countries.

All Gareth’s work is created in the region but is shown at festivals and exhibitions around the world. “I’ve just finished a fellowship at Digital City, Middlesbrough where I worked to create scripts for an animated series and develop a unique style and methodology of animation,” he said. “I’m now making plans for my first solo show which will definitely be UK based.

“I’m excited to be using the animation style developed at Digital City to create some new art works which will hopefully constitute a body of work for my solo show and single pieces for exhibition internationally.”

Gareth studied a foundation degree in Fine Art at Newcastle College where his love of international and art-house cinema was nurtured by his tutor, Brian Ord, and he went on to Northumbria University to gain a BA Hons in Fine Art in 2005. As a result of his graduation work, he was selected to exhibit in Northern Graduates in London and also at The Gate, Newcastle, as part of British Art Show 6.

“Being raised with TV and cinema, you tend to place as much stock and cultural importance on images of Marilyn Monroe as you would the Mona Lisa,” he said. “Like photography before it, video and film have surpassed being just reference tools for an artist, and the method and means of using them has increased in scope but shrunk in cost.

“It’s a more accessible medium for those who wish to experiment,” said Gareth, who works with, and is available for commission through, Bishop Auckland based Urban Dusk Studios www.urbandusk.com

Paul Gudgin, creative director for Durham’s UK City of Culture 2013 bid, said: “This is a thoroughly deserved plaudit for Gareth who is among an array of fantastic artists in Durham who produce such wonderful work.

“I’m sure if we are successful in our bid to become UK City of Culture then our highly creative cultural community will experience a tremendous surge.”