TAMPA, Fla. – Fantastical, symbolic, colorful, narrative and abstract are just a few of the words that have been used to describe the work of Trenton Doyle Hancock.
Hancock, 36, said on Wednesday that making a mark on a piece of paper at the age of 2 or 3 got him interested in creating art.
Around the age of 3 or 4, Hancock realized he was skilled at art when people began to call his work “abnormal.” Compared to other children his age, he said, his cows looked like actual cows. From that moment on, what inspired Hancock to create art changed.
“When I realized I was good at it, it became about recording, remembering the things I saw – characters from movies, interesting animals,” Hancock said. “The more you draw, the more you add to your library of images.”
As an undergraduate at Texas A&M University, Hancock added to his library of images the work he is most well-known for today.
“When I was around 20, 21, I started figure drawing and trying to search a way to draw figure images that were important to me,” Hancock said. “I started plucking limbs off people and they became bowling pins, which turned into Mounds.”
Hancock said he started to add cosmetically to the Mounds and tried to figure out what Mounds were.
The unfolding saga of the half-animal, half-plant creatures called Mounds has evolved into an epic narrative that has come to include Vegans, the Mounds antagonists; Torpedo Boy, the mounds’ protector that has an inflated ego; Painter, a mothering energy; and Loid, a paternal energy.
“It morphed into something I truly didn’t anticipate,” Hancock said.
In 2006, Hancock was invited to work at USF’s Graphicstudio. Over the last four years, Hancock has collaborated with Graphicstudio to create several sculptural and printed projects.
A piece on display at Graphicstudio is Hancock’s “Flower Bed II: A Prelude to Damnation.” The work, a glow-in-the-dark sheet of wallpaper that is 27 inches tall by 5 yards wide, is a vibrant display of color and text that depicts the massacre of hundreds of baby Mounds.
Hancock said he created the work because he’s always been interested in environments and creating something that people can walk into.
“Wallpaper furthers images and allows me to make a module that I can replicate that creates an environment,” Hancock said. “Wallpaper does that successfully, and it is also a more expedient way to cover wall.”
Of “Flower Bed II,” Hancock said, “[It] allowed me to experiment with different ink, create blacklight and work with 3-D elements.”
Those planning to attend the studio’s benefit sale on Oct. 8 can view “Flower Bed II” through the 3-D glasses located on the table in front of the work.
Several of Hancock’s pieces are currently on display at Graphicstudio, and in January visitors to USF’s Contemporary Art Museum will be able to view a full collection of Hancock’s work.
For more information about Hancock visit the PBS ART:21 and Graphicstudio websites.
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