A Body – A Border | Hoak-Doering

A Body - A Border graffiti gesture

After a PhD-related hiatus from studio work, I took part in Borderlands, a three month artist residency programme, invited by the Atelierhaus Eupen. In Belgium, my research came out in a new context, and new work, among a great group of artist friends. Our residencies culminated in two group exhibitions: a booth at 2025 Art … Read more

graffiti from the underground in East Berlin (the former GDR)

This series of silkscreen prints is based on graffiti from the underground in East Berlin (the former GDR). I found them in a so-called “ghost” station where, between about 1950 and 1989, people could mark on and scratch into the walls without being seen. As with several of my other projects, I began by copying … Read more

Unbound: drawing and poetry from Stasi prison texts

Elizabeth Hoak Doering

Unbound is an unfinished installation of drawings and poetry that works directly with markings left by anonymous inmates held in the secret Stasi remand prison, Berlin-Hohenschönhausen during the 1980s. The poetry in Unbound is an ambiguous collaboration between these individuals, and me. Most prisoners at Berlin-Hohenschönhausen were interrogated by Stasi wardens and some were granted … Read more

historical Cypriot graffiti art installation

History, Sideways represents the past in Cyprus through graffiti inscriptions found across the island. The processes of discovery and documentation are central to my research-based art practice, which has involved recording inscribed graffiti in Cyprus since 1997. Many of these inscriptions had not been previously documented, and some no longer exist outside of their presence … Read more

ship graffiti

These selected works are based on ship graffiti that I copied from the walls of one building: the ruined church of St. George of the Greeks in Famagusta, Cyprus. The graffiti, dating from c.1570 to 1920, have attracted a relatively good amount of scholarly attention. I recorded all that I could reach using the technique … Read more

Drawings exploring speed, shorthand, writing and hip-hop lyrics

These pieces explore the boundaries between drawing and writing, blurring them through repetition, copying and tracing. Many of the works experiment with the look of speed – fast or hasty mark making that suggest urgency, fluency or skill. As a child, I saw my grandmother’s household notes in stenography and I understood these as her … Read more

Bridge-building | neon sign art installation

neon sign art installation Bridge-building European Capital of Culture Pafos 2017

Bridge-Building is a neon sign art installation commissioned for the European Capital of Culture Pafos 2017. In general, the term “bridge-building” is used as a metaphor for fostering interactions between communities and people who may not naturally meet. Even though this metaphor is used by marriage counsellors, teachers, and peacemakers, it doesn’t hold up: social … Read more

Objects making drawings | Hoak-Doering at Venice Biennale

“Things, Witnesses!” (also known as Amanuensis) is a kinetic installation of objects making drawings. It was selected for the Cyprus pavillion at the 54th Venice Biennale of Art in 2011. Originally presented in the divided city of Nicosia, Cyprus, the work explores how everyday objects are silent witnesses to human histories—especially in communities shaped by … Read more