From the beginning of this final module (Vital Object/ions) I have set myself the challenge to make a piece of of work that I would find interesting/ exciting to be part of a group show. This has been particularly challenging as ordinarily I do not find group shows that great when there has been curatorial control over the work submitted: together with the plain fact that I want to make work that is site-responsive.

I have found "A List of Questions" by Paula Marincola, written on the bookmark of her text What Makes A great Exhibition? very helpful in directing my approach and conclusions.  I have pulled some of her proposed questions to reflect on here.

Where do you start when conceiving an exhibitions theme and focus?

This is my final degree show; thus, I wanted to make work that reflects both my personal perspective and journey and current practice.  I deliberately chose both a very personal and current socio-political theme as my subject, for surely this is what contemporary practice is all about and thus particularly relevant for a degree show?
My conclusions are that my practice has a strong conceptual basis that has developed into the use of multi-media assemblages. These assemblages are created to interact with the immediate space, i.e. are site-responsive and I want to invite my viewer to both physically and creatively engage with the work.
To achieve the above I require enough physical space for my viewer to move around the work and enough flexibility within the elements of the assemblage to allow some freedom to engage with the wider space of the group show.
I have requested not to be “compartmentalised” within a space, but to be “free form” i.e. free to slipshape. I have adapted the format of the show to my own requirements – e.g. by escaping the 8 x 8 ‘ white cube/white wall.
My planned degree show genuinely feels like a culmination of my journey through the degree course.  It feels both authentic and new, thus significant to me … and hopefully some viewers.
Holding ... On ...  my assemblage that I exhibited in the INTERIM exhibition confirmed some ideas and negated others. The experience has given me the confidence in the selection of the elements for : left : , my degree show work.

What are the major critical and practical issues intrinsic to specific types of projects – such as design or craft shows, or film/video projects – and how do they affect their conceptualization and direct our perception of their significance?

I feel that this is a question I have partly addressed in considering how to show my video in a group show within a white gallery space.  Critically, it has pushed me to utilise the object, the android tablet to show the video on.
This solution also reinforces the technique that I employed in capturing the footage on a smartphone, i.e. not the highest tech approach to filming or showing.
Practically this solution circumvents the requirement to create a custom-made viewing space (counter-intuitive in my intention to be site-responsive) or finding one somewhere else in the building.  This problem made a challenge for me to address which has made the process of exhibiting much more interesting.

How much of our experience of and pleasure in an exhibition depend upon the talents of the curator in the installation and deployment of the artworks?

Probably a lot … but maybe “kill or cure”? Can works be manipulated into something unintended by the artist?  I think that this could be very true .. particularly for my own work where I feel that context is everything.
And yet I would wish for my own work to be part of a cohesive whole … this is what I felt happened at our recent INTERIM group show.

How does a superb installation elevate even great individual works to another level of impact and meaning?

All I can say that I experienced such an exhibition recently, that of Benoit Maire @ Spike Island.  Once I had experienced how the artist had placed his work in a very large gallery space, I realised that the different works created new relationships between themselves and me.  I did not want to leave the space as I felt there was always something else to see and/ or consider.
This is what I am aiming to achieve with : left : in the degree show.  Here the viewer will be invited to view the work in relation to the surrounding works of the other artists.

As this effort must go beyond the installation of the objects and the catalogue to encompass such ancillary materials as an audio guide, wall text, didactic labels, how do we find opportunities to be imaginative with each element at our disposal?

I really disliked the wall label that I placed by my work for INTERIM, for me it invaded the space.  I am hoping that as the floor is the focal point for my assemblage, I can place the title there somewhere.  Ideally, I don’t want a title label at all.  I have ordered some badges with the title on for the viewer to take away.  For in the end, the title will be the only element that survives the show.  It pleases me that some viewers may choose to pick up a badge, and maybe wear it as they move around the show and beyond … my work will truly interact with a wider context then!
I have also ordered some square business cards that reflect imagery and colours within the assemblage [orange floor tiles].  They also reflect the colours used on the cover of the text “What Makes A Great Exhibition?” … which makes me smile!

Recently my Level 6 Year group put on a group show ... INTERIM in Hereford city centre, within an empty shop.  This proved to be a positive experience for me, this particularly noteworthy as I usually find the experience stressful and unrewarding.  However, for my final module of my Fine Art degree course I have set myself the task of creating work that will feel exciting as part of a "white cube" group show. 

My work was called Holding ..... out or up or on or back or forth or in.    The work was an assemblage of digital image on board, bar stool, android tablet showing video (2 mins loop), sticks supplied by Moccas jackdaws.   I had a very useful tutorial with tutor Jonathon ...

J commented that my use of materials and objects that are not obvioiusly connected asks the viewer to decode the work in challanging ways.  I am explicitly asking the viwer to interpret the work and consequently by doing this there is no settled meaning.  These comments please me.

I shared my discovery of the word "slipshape" [as opposed to "shipshape"].  This word imbues a sense of slipperiness/fluidity.  This feels pertinent to both the interpretation and the visual qualities of my work.

Am I trying to trip the viewer up? I see it more as making an "offering" to their creative minds.  It is a conscious choice that I make.

My next steps are about developing this approach.

I wish to create a "visual feast", something to draw in the viewer.

Objects not being quite where they should be, definitely.

I will re-visit Jane Bennett's Vibrant Matter.

J reminded me of the globe at the window that I made early on in the year ... what was the subject and what was the object ? ... I really loved that juxtaposition ... it created many interesting questions in my own mind.

How can I make work that interacts with other's work in an exhibition?

How do I make it challenging/interesting/exciting in a group exhibition?

NB The Thebes exhibition by Benoit Maire [that I viewed in December 2018 at Spike Island, Bristol]  I feel holds the key for me.  In particular his use of placement of paintings within a space, and his placement of found and made objects in relation to each other and the architecture of the space.

I feel that I want to make my own distinctive work, yet I want my work to "work" with both the space and the other artwork.

I feel that to achieve this my assemblage needs to be as free as possible, to be independent of walls, electric sockets, to be capable of infinite possibilities of placement within the allocated space.

This will allow maximum flexibility on how I can stage the work to interact with others around it and the contextual architecture of the gallery space.

I follow Robert McFarlane on Twitter, he regularly posts a 'word of the day'.  A few weeks ago it was: slipshape -
in contrast to shipshape (tidy, ordered, regulated) that which is "slipshape" is characterised by fluidity, uncertainty, shape-shift and flow.

This novel word resonates with me, I seem to seek these qualities not only in the meaning but the visual qualities in my work.  How can I stage my work in a slipshape fashion and smuggle meaning into my assemblage?

I have had feedback that I ask a lot of my viewer; by doing so I feel that this extends the range of possibilities (value and meaning) within the viewing. Certainly over the two days of the exhibition I found myself creating new ideas in possible meanings of the work.  That pleases me.

My degree show work will be an assemblage that will interact with the gallery architecture and other works but at the same time will be wholly independent of any white gallery walls, architectural fixtures and fittings. Of course I don't know what space I will be allotted, but I will enjoy the challenge of assembling the various elements to achieve my intentions.  Maybe I will change it every day?

It is now two days after the private view (BEEBOX @ Bromyard, Herefordshire) a very different experience of exhibiting for me.  This has been a collective of 10 artists making their own response to a poem by Sylvia Plath.  I came rather late to the group ... previously they had met and discussed their strategy for the exhibition.  The decision was made to respond to the same poem which was agreed between them, this was back in April.  Most of the artists were previously unkown to me and were either recent Fine Art graduates or currently studying for their MAs either in Herefordshire or Worcestershire.  I am the only one studying at BA level.  Thus I found the different approaches and the round table discussions very helpful and stimulating.  The overall project was being curated by two of the group ... they gave us an open brief on the work we produced but they would take the decision on which work would be included.

As I wanted to create a site-specific piece I chose to go outside the building.  I think this was fortuitous as I was able to source some 'found' distorted crates ( probably been under a hedge for about 40 years).  I used some fluorescent cord to tether a stack of these crates and 'pulled' the elements apart. To me this felt a successful attempt to convey the inner wranglings and tensions within the poem.  The two materials so very different in form and age were mutually interdependent (in fact there was much shifting over the weeks this was formed) to work together, yet against each other, within the form.  The result felt quite menacing and almost 'tortured', on the brink of breaking up.  These are just the emotions and experiences that I felt were contained within the poem.

What I did not predict was how my installation would work with the 'box-like' building which hosted the show.  I had placed a solar-powered 'white' security light on the ground which shone through the work.  But what was a lovely surprise was how this interacted with the very orange / yellow light from the street light.  This cast not only shadow lines and a sunset glow across and up around the building ... but even more exciting the shadows went in the front door and appeared on the inside wall!  Consequently my installation has grown and extended in all directions which creates more imagery and meaning for me.

Of course the exhibition runs the rest of this week from 11- 5 pm so the viewers will see a very different installation in the daylight.  So this work is not only site-specific but very much time-specific.

I find the exhibition diverse and hugely rewarding and perhaps more interesting due to the fact that we were responding to the same poem.  An added plus was the invitation of a group of poets and writers to the pv who are charged with writing their own responses to our visual responses.  Thus the written word will have been translated into art and back into the written form.  This process sounds very exciting to me (maybe something along the lines of the process in the 'digital dialogues' collaboration in previous blog).  We are all due to reconvene at this venue in February 2016 to listen to the writers responses. Watch this space  ....

I was lucky enough to have another collaborative opportunity working with digitaldialogues on their Decade project at Hereford College of Arts.  DD are a band of two, Jason and Darren, who have worked together for a decade having met on an MA course.   The other artist were 3 of us now going into the second year of our FA degree and 2 upcoming first year students.   We seemed to work so well together, relaxed yet focussed.   I don't think that you can ask much more than that from team-working on a creative venture.

The concept was already in existence, a re-interpretation from 2D into 3D of a series of digital drawings that were created collaboratively by Jason and Darren.

They had created maquettes of the monoliths that they wanted us to interpret.  They also had made decisions on the colour of paint [cyan. yellow, magenta and black]. 

I find it an intriguing idea to use the colours of a digital printer to create painted forms that in themselves resemble ink cartridges [well sort of ...]

I felt very comfortable within the group and was happy to 'go with the flow'.  I think that this is really important because as I did not have responsibilty for the overall concept I just had to trust that the project would produce something worthwhile, on whatever level.

The final result I think looks very strong.  The monoliths, which stand in the foyer of the college have become an intrinsic part of the 3D painting.  Our work has lifted their presence to something completely new and, in my view, quite exciting.  Certainly a new way of seeing their form within the space.

And dare I conclude that [yet again this seems a recurring theme with me] I find these painted monoliths exciting because they are site specific  and will maybe be present for a few weeks only.  They relate to the wider space of the beautiful contemporary space of the reception and cafe area of Hereford College of Arts [Folly Lane site].

But this work will re-emerge in another form as artists in Swansea will further re-interpret our paintings back into 2D murals.

I offer hearty congratulations to Darren and Jason [digitaldialogues] a very happy 10th anniversary!!

Under the watchful eye of Darren Williams, Ava Vaughan former student of Hereford Art College was lucky enough to be introduced to current BA Fine Art students Vivian Barraclough and Ash Roberts.

 

The collaboration sparked multiple artistic ideas centred around the ‘Out of Nature’ project at Newport House.  

 

After many twists and turns we were inspired by the challenges the materials had to offer. Resulting in categorising 12 months of waste collected by a family of 6 living at Newport House.

 

After one pit stop at the pub and 6 days of hard work the team have produced a response to the brief, site, material and working as part of a newly established collective. The installation created featured different percentages of sorted paper, plastic, metal and ‘other’ objects, which have then been placed into a stack of Industrial intermediate bulk containers.

 

We feel that this has been an exciting and direct response to the site and location. Our work is installed in the dipping pond within a walled organic garden, creating juxtaposition between natural forms and man made waste material.  

Wrapping the structure in clear and black plastic was not only a new material but emphasised how we as a society manage our waste. 

 

Awaiting to be transformed

To be Undone

 

Private view 3rd October 12:30 pm

To find out more: www.outofnature.org.uk/

Before I went away on holiday I took down an installation ( [31.12.2002] ) following a month long exhibition at the Applestore. My work was a response to a piece of contemporary music composed by John Frith which in  turn was his response to the northern lights.  I realised that this had been my most exciting and engaging exhibition experience to date. Why?

Well I think because I was using both created and found materials and placing them together in a surprising way.  The exploration for this work was made during a module on my Fine Art course; the thinking and processes that I undertook gave the confidence to create a site-specific installation.  I was grateful that the curator gave me the space I needed.

At the private view I received much interest in my work, much more than with other work I have previously exhibited.   I created the work in situ and although I knew the visual qualities I was after I did not really know how the work was going to look.  I think that this immediacy and the site-specificity of the work was apparent to some of the viewers.  I was able to create a lyrical movement and depth that extented well beyond the physical materials themselves.  There was also much positive interest registered during the exhibition, according to the gallery owners (unfortunately none of it written down).  However, another artist visiting the exhibition who found my work exciting has now offered me the opportunity to exhibit in an exhibition later in the year.   This confirms to me the necessity of taking opportunities whenever they offer themselves!

During my time away on holiday I went to see Phyllida Barlow's exhibition 'Set'. This had a huge impact on me not least because of her use of material, the scale and the site-specificity. I think that there is something about the temporal nature of the work I find exciting i.e  the work will never exist in the same space, time or form again.  I particularly note the use of natural light from the high windows and rooflights.  There was no ignoring this installation, it pushed and pulled you around the white gallery space so that you hardly noticed the white walls (other than squeezing yourself against them) .... I found this ironic as someone who finds white galleries forbidding places.

This evening I will meet with some of the other artists and poets to discuss our performance. What is the most exciting outcome for me? There have no doubt been a number of aspects within the process which have been rewarding:

• collaborating within a project set up by an artist not known to me
• working in a landscape and a context chosen by others and outside my experience
  
• exploring my own ideas (together with Ash) within this context (B3TTY @LUDLOW)
  
• engaging in performance art for the first time, for me the interaction with the community offering their memories was the most exciting... why? I think because of the very active two-way nature of the social interaction to elicit memories. In the museum it felt far more passive receiving objects from the community. I also found it rewarding to observe how many people were willing to engage with B3TTY and how she seemed to elicit such interest and so many positive feelings. It felt to me as if we were offering a gift to a number of people within the community and that was before our sound installation on social media.
  

But I think it is the concept of 'adding value' to objects / memories which will be the most influential on my future practice. We have achieved this through actively collecting and displaying memories and objects from people unknown to us, thus giving them recognition and consequently a value:

• recording them digitally through photography and sound recording imbues a value through process as they will exist beyond the collection.
  
• placing them on social media allowing access of the collection to all, thus exposing the memories and objects to a wider audience adds to their longevity and thus their value.
• the writing of poems about the objects adds another layer of process and meaning and thus adds value to them.
• the selling of some of the objects on ebay, i.e. found empty lucozade bottle plus poem, found empty cigarette carton and poem and the unused pregnancy testing kit and poem added a further conceptual level of value to the objects. They have become commodities which has created a commercial value (albeit nominal).
  

The notion of finding, listening and thus noticing objects and and memories by the artist /performer instills a value to the viewer. This can be made explicit through the curation and exhibition into a public space, whether physical or digital. The placing of these items can then be placed into a marketplace where the wider community will determine the value of objects. This certainly feels like an antithesis to the white-walled gallery exhibition.

In two days we return to our pitch in Castle Square with B3TTY. What have I learnt from the first weekend?

The process of 'collection' felt authentic as I recorded every person that offered their memories. When there were a few people talking the memories would have become layered over those of others. The order and timing of our collecting were dictated by the community as they interacted with B3TTY and us the artists throughout the day.

When it came to our 'curating', i.e. when we listened (Ash and myself) to the memories, initially we selected phrases, voices and the order to create themes. We were clear that we were not setting out to create a documentary but had not agreed any process of 'curation' other than to listen and make judgements together.

'Hello, this is yours is it?'    'I felt like Quasimodo when I got out' and 'It's older than my Dad' were put together by trying to link some themes. In doing this we changed the 'order' of the memories to some degree. We also tried to capture voices from both genders and a range of ages to reflect the diversity of the contributions. By making such judgements how much were we diminishing the community contributions? I'm not sure at this stage but I am questioning our process. We were pleased to that we captured sounds from the environment which added a strong sense of place and time, thus strengthening the sense of honesty of our collection process.

With 'The stinky car' we started to have some fun by creating a piece with 'double entendres'. This we enjoyed at the time...but on reflection I now feel that we lost the'integrity' of our recordings and I wonder how those who contributed to the piece will feel? I was one who did contribute some dialogue and acknowledge how misunderstood I feel by the choice of my phrases and their juxtaposition. Does this matter? Not sure....but memories are personal and valuable treasures that perhaps should be better respected.

So for the following piece, 'Norfolk or was it Suffolk 123' resulted by editing three sections of recording into clips but keeping the order that they were recorded. We were now setting some rules before we listened to the memories. This felt like we were relinquishing some control and thus increasing some degree of authenticity, and perhaps respect, to the process.

Because of this thought I suggested that the next, 'That could be the title couldn't it?'  should be completely 'unaltered'. By chance this was a short recording of us, the two artists, completely unaware that we might use it. Today I am wondering if it adds anything, but it certainly is authentic! But in this situation I feel that I do want to edit it to create more interest. To control or not to control...that is the question!

My other thoughts are around were we a collaboration of two? To what degree were we actively part of the 'little museum of Ludlow'?  If I am honest the first weekend we were so tied up in our own 'performance' that our work was attached by virtue of developing out of the same conceptual ideas but in reality was performed quite separately. This was probably due to me not truly understanding the nature of the collaboration; I think I was more concerned about 'bringing something to the table' rather than performing within the ground rules.

Why do we seek order in the world?

Whatever 'order' we find will probably be our unique take on what we perceive, our history, our values and how we remember. Memories are our own stories formed from what we choose or are able to select and remember...some memories may lie submerged in our subconscious until we see, hear, feel, touch or taste something that evokes their re-emergence.

B3TTY our 57 year old A35 Austin car was mass produced in her day aimed for the needs of the post war working classes. She had been bought just a month ago with very evident physical signs of her previous 'life', for example extensive rust, damaged and missing fittings and perished rubber window seals which had let in the overnight rain. Her original front seats had recently been replaced with those from a Mini Cooper. However her engine is original and still working.

When some members of the community approached her they very obviously engaged in a visual way and many more in a verbal and tactile way. They wanted to share and check their memories, find out more about B3TTY herself and offer their own opinions and advice.

The 'memories' we collected and shared this weekend in Ludlow were very personal, technical, historical, opinionated (i.e. the mismatched front seats), very specific (i.e. number plates remembered from over 50 years ago) and experiential (i.e. rites of passage). These memories were elicited by both B3TTY and us, two artists, interacting with members of the community (both from Ludlow and beyond) in this place at this time. As such this feels like a performance art.

Our interaction with the community in Ludlow this weekend created an art piece that will in turn enter our own memories and narrative. Together we have created a shared narrative, some of which has been recorded and in turn will be 'curated' into a sound installation.