Tumbling through time
Space has been a bit of a theme in my recent excursions – in a sense of delineating a space architecturally as Charles Avery does in his precise drawings of an imagined world; in the exploration of space examined through Cristina De Middel’s photographs of ‘Afronauts’ which also play into ideas of sci-fi as does Jess Littlewood in her fictional landscapes; in attempting to make the unknowable palpable, Luci Eldrige has used radar imaging of Venus undertaken by NASA and translated it into richly coloured etchings. Then there is the space where the making takes place – the art institution.
The RCA SHOW has come around again.
RCA SHOW 2013
This year the experience was heightened by the possibility that I may one day get the chance to participate in the creative dialogue of this institution.
Look at that amazing space for making.
RCA print room
Since my application and interview in March I have received some really positive feedback from Jo Stockham the head of the printmaking course.
I have been encouraged to apply again next year if a place doesn’t become available for me this year so I was keen to see what the current graduates were exhibiting and if I could see progression from the exhibition they had in spring at Café Gallery Projects.
A favourite was Luci Eldridge. Fascinated by the ‘invisible visions’ acquired through the use of science’s cybernetic eye, she is captivated by images of lands we cannot empirically experience.
Luci Eldrige – four colour photo etching
I also identified with the work of Jessica Wallis ‘The History of the End of the World’
Jessica Wallis – Book Cover Series
Jessica Wallis – Formula for disaster DVD
Jessica Wallis – Formula for disaster dvd
I was intrigued by the films of Nicola Thomas – ‘Imitation’ and ‘ Dancing with Monk’ and her etched prints from The Look Series were captivating.
Nicola Thomas – Carole #3
etched print
Bee Flowers work has a feel of the mausoleum
Bee Flowers – plaster acrylic
Alice Hartley must have had some upsetting school reports
Alice Hartley – screen print on blue black paper
Elizabeth Hayley’s prints on brass had a wonderful quality of time passed
Elizabeth Hayley – silver gelatin on brass
Yanna Soares – Loom of Neith – silk embroidery on etchings, cotton thread, wood
Liz Lake – run aground
Hannah Thual – between exposed and concealed
I realise I must have missed some of the printmaking exhibits.
From Painting I really related to the work of Zoe De Soumagnat
Zoe De Soumagnat – Al Fresco
Zoe De Soumagnat – Black Painting. tasty
Tomie Seo – All in a vision and Court of Regulation
Lian Zhang – oil on board
From Sculpture discipline I really liked how the paper constructions of Yana Naidenov looked like concrete
Yana Naidenov – rammed paper pulp
The materiality of Virgile Ittah’s sculptures were also intriguing, and rather unsettling
Virgile Ittah – For man would remember each murmur – fabric, mixed wax
The Lilliputian sculptures of Sun Lah stood out
Sun Lah – wood and pastel
Observing from a distance
Sun Lah
Loved this little projection from Lucy Joyce
Lucy Joyce – Gold House – video
Lina Lapelyte – Candy Shop
I liked photography student Julio Galeote’s work
Julio Galeote – excess
The Charlie Dutton Photo and Print Open Salon had a really strong selection of work, it was tightly hung but as the work was all so strong it wasn’t a case of your eye skimming the wall and only taking in one or two pieces.
I was fascinated by a lot of the work showing and noticed Luci Eldridge had a couple of pieces in the show.
Luci Eldridge – The Invisible Sky
Hannah Williamson
Adam Dix – Be As One – screenprint
Frances Disley – Little Boy Lost – reduction lino cut
Alex Lawler – Celestial Navigation – print on chiffon
Harry Meadows – Medallion
I have often found that in the Deutsche Borse Photography Prize show there is one clear winner for me but this year all 4 candidates drew me in and inspired me.
No Man’s Land is shot entirely with Google Street View. The coordinates for prostitutes operating in remote locations were picked up from internet chat rooms.
Henner’s method of online intelligence-gathering results in an unsettling reflection on surveillance, voyeurism and the contemporary landscape.
Mishka Henner – No Man’s Land
Chris Killip documents the disintegration of the industrial landscape through the people that live there.
Chris Killip- What Happened – Great Britain 1970 – 1990
‘War Primer 2’ reimagines the pages of Bertold Brecht’s 1955 publication ‘War Primer’. Brecht’s book was a collection of photos and newspaper clippings that were paired with a four line poem.
Broomberg and Chanarin have layered google search results for the poems over the original images. The results are extraordinary.
Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin – War Primer 2
In 1964 Zambia started a space programme to send the first African astronaut to the moon.
Cristina De Middel – The Afronauts
Through photographs, manipulated documents, drawings and letters De Middel presents a folkloric tale which blurs myths and truths. Great costumes and funky fabrics.
Cristina De Middel
Jess Littlewood’s prints showing at BEARSPACE have a wonderful sci-fi quality without them being too unbelievable. There is a common motif of a pentagon, a makeshift habitat and an opening through to a stellar sky. They speak of new beginnings from dystopian endings.
Jess Littlewood – The Dissolution of Mother Island
Central to the exhibition, The Dissolution of Mother Island maps the inevitable collapse of the founding commune and the emergence of a new epoch, defined by five new derivative sects. Each sect inhabits a new island, and looking to the future each attempt to establish a unique society whilst never achieving true autonomy.
The further five exhibited works act as chapter headings, describing each sect and their specific obsessions. All maintain a fixation with the shrine like shelters of their past, highlighting futility in their attempts for individualism. These five new islands will now act as anthropological testing grounds in which Littlewood can explore the parameters and tendencies of human behaviour.
Littlewoods otherworldly landscapes are the product of extensive collecting, collating and archiving of images. Working digitally Littlewood builds layer upon layer of found imagery, the final outcome a window into an alternative world.
Jess Littlewood – Island Folly
Wow, what a mind Charles Avery has.
Charles Avery View of the Port – from The Islanders
He talks at a fast pace about the world that he describes through his expressive drawings, writing and sculptures. He has considered so much more about his imaginary world than most people ever consider about the one they actually inhabit. He has models of the island in his studio so that when drawing a new scene he is aware whether there should be a tower in the background or not. He knows where the toilets , the kitchens, the lifts are in buildings that are never more described than as background facade in a scene. This world is built on mathematical principles and animated with philosophical debate. Space is mapped out precisely in both the built environment and the geographical relationships but time in the concept as we understand it does not apply – events happen, time is not linear.
It was fascinating to hear about his process of creation at Whitechapel Gallery as part of the To Make A Tree programme.
Charles Avery
The trees in jardindagade are based on a mathematical formula. He told us how hard it was to devise a formula for a willow tree to be well balanced and the leaves not to fall and tangle with each other. He decided to go outside and see how a real tree coped with this problem and found that it didn’t, it was messy and tangled, but it didn’t fall over.
He has ambitions to build the whole of jardindagade as an immersive installation – let’s hope someone with some money was listening.
Susan Eyre 