Archives for the month of: June, 2012

Moving on with work on ‘Incidence’ has been the preparation and printing of stencils, making screens and printing the foreground.

8 trees each with 5 layers = 40 pulls + 2 flights of stairs. Must be mad.

All going to plan until I find some of the trees branches are on the wrong side. Catastrophe – two layers will  have to be redone.

Wanted to blame someone else but it was me – so I blame tiredness – 6am starts and 13 hour sessions on the PC preparing the stencils ended in my flipping vertically some of the trees to get as many in as small an area as possible to save on printing costs instead of just rotating them. I don’t think I will make this mistake again as it has put me way behind schedule and means I have to pay for another open access session and screen emulsions.

tree stencils

Apart from this set back I am quite pleased with the way it is coming together.

This is the fun bit – seeing the transformation as each new layer is added.

‘Incidence’ in progress

Harking back to my visit to Edinburgh to see Simone Pereira-Hind’s MFA show I was very taken with the work by William Mokrynski.

His project ‘Nylon Chrysalis’ explores scaffolding as a symbol of rejuvenation and as a synthetic architectural cocoon concealing a mystery within.

Simone and I both felt his work had a connection to Alex Hartley’s work with the use of 3D construction onto a photographic image.

The work had the quality of an alien spaceship landing, with flashing lights and moving parts. bringing the extraordinary if not the extra terrestrial to the high street.

I was also able to pop into the Fruitmarket Gallery to see Tony Swain’s latest work.

Painting dreamlike landscapes on newspaper he is interested in the throwaway nature of the newspaper, he also uses it as a starting point for his images.

I found it worked well without my glasses on, letting the imagery dissolve into romantic vistas rather than facing up to the raw nature of the paint marks.

The images had a wonderful fragility barely held together and likely to collapse at any moment.

There was also a good show on at the Edinburgh City Art Centre – A Parliament of Lines

I was interested to see Andrew Mackenzie’s work

which has similar themes to the work of a big favourite of mine Reginald S Aloysius 

in the use of abstract line over landscape, the limited palette and the references to history, nature and man’s intervention.

Friday 15th June saw the opening of the 5th annual summer exhibition at Ochre Print Studios.

The evening had a fun atmosphere, music wine and lots of sales too including the sale of my work ‘Lapse’

Sublimation print on layered organza and polyester. People were fascinated by the 3D effect the organza layer gives to the image.

I had lots of compliments about my work which is always a real buzz.

It was great that Morgan Doyle one of the guest artists seen here in the stripy jacket, came along  to discuss his work and support the studio.

He has a very refreshing attitude to printing and is a very entertaining speaker as well as making wonderful evocative work that draws you in to a world almost recognisable but ungraspable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Influences this week have been very much to do with new beginnings but a lot to do with endings.

Firstly I saw Sum at the Linbury Studio Theatre of the Royal Opera House. A chamber opera composed by Max Richter & directed by Wayne McGregor.

It is based on the book Sum by the neuroscientist David Eagleman – forty tales from the afterlives.

It was very moving and poignant. The singers sat amongst the audience and their voices filled every space while you contemplated your own death.  Some stories were funny, some tragic and heartbreaking.

It felt very personal – like good observational comedy – something easy to identify with – the human condition.

When I think about death it is usually just to be angry things have to end. I will not be able to fit in all I want to do and I want to know what happens next.

I am trying to remember the name of the artist who was talking on radio 4, at 79 (or 76) he says he can’t afford to have any new ideas because he knows he hasn’t time to complete them.

He is collecting his hair every time it is cut and dividing it into black hairs and white hairs. Apparently there is no such thing as a grey hair.

I read the book Sum on the train to Edinburgh but I’m so glad I had it sung to me first.

I also watched the film  Never Let Me Go this week. The calm acceptance of death by the clones is very powerful.

A degree show is an ending but it is also a beginning – and visiting two good friends degree shows this week it really felt more like the start of something than the end.

So good to see fresh new work and feel the enthusiasm.

Yoonae Park – Westminster University Mixed Media Fine Art Degree Show at Ambika 3

Yoonae Park – self-portrait, body & soul

Simone Pereira-Hind MFA in Contemporary Art Practices at Edinburgh College of Art.

Alienation Zone – a response to space

While I was googling primordial fear as research for the work Syndrome I came across this – really interesting insight I thought

http://zouchmagazine.com/building-better-worlds-the-production-design-of-alien
I watched the film for the first time before heading to Simone’s alienation zone fresh with ideas about the monstrous feminine
and all the complex feelings about abjection discussed by Julia Kristeva in her book Powers of Horror: An Essay in Abjection
Read More:  http://zouchmagazine.com/building-better-worlds-the-production-design-of-alien/#ixzz1xWkdDk8d
I remember this book being discussed while at Goldsmiths – another of those impenetrable texts I think.
I think I ruined the suspense of the film for myself and I was looking for too much symbolism.
Simone’s elevator experience too I think must be even better if unexpected. To call a lift and have spaceship arrive.
Meanwhile back in the studio

A mock-up of Incidence using foam board sunbeams and cardboard trees.

I have spent a ridiculous number of hours preparing the stencils for the final layers on Incidence.

Is it possible to pull a muscle using a Waco pen.