To Me, To You - Mick Peter - The BALTIC

"Mick Peter’s playful installations incorporate imagery influenced by illustration and commercial art. To Me, To You draws on archetypes of the artist in a narrative sequence about a sculpture being produced and displayed in a gallery.



Peter references how abstract modern sculpture has sometimes been used to represent the incomprehensibility of art in editorial illustrations in newspapers and magazines. By showing the imagined decisions being taken in a studio Peter wittily undermines the significance and authority of the finished sculpture."



We begin by walking through the gallery office, the administration centre of the gallery and then enter the corridor-like expanse that is split into a number of booths, each a different scenario in the artist's studio tracking the development of activities on the day that the art handlers have come to collect his work.



As the narrative develops, one realises that, as the art handlers struggle to move the sculpture, the artist adapts its shape so as to make it easier to carry.






I appreciate the understated simplicity of the work which complements the cartoon-like style of Peter's monochrome drawings. The humour within the work is coupled with an intelligent understanding of the contemporary art world.

Cheeseburn Open Weekend July 2019 - Simon Hitchens in the gallery

I spent another excellent weekend working at Cheeseburn Open Weekend. The grounds looked stunning, with the colourful flowers in full bloom and the grass as lush as ever. The glorious sunshine added to the joy of the two days.

Based predominantly at the main reception with Tia and Ell, I had the pleasure of meeting and greeting hundreds of visitors to Cheeseburn, and the satisfaction of seeing them leave with huge smiles and many positive comments. There was plenty to keep people happy, even without the art!


This weekend saw the end of the Simon Hitchens exhibition in the gallery. His intricate drawings in the 'Thinking Beyond Rock' collection remind me of spirographs. They have been created by tracing the shadows of a rock over the course of an entire day. Every 15 minutes Hitchens traces the line of the shadow cast by the rock, and over the duration of the day as the shadow moves, the lines track the movement of the sun.

Simon explains, “The natural world is an endless source of inspiration to me, and a direct tool I use to create my work. For example, the current body of work I am pursuing requires sunlight as the source for image making, drawing shadows cast by a rock between sunrise and sunset. The resultant drawings are unique in time and space to a given location on the planet, recording the relentless rotation of the earth beneath our feet.”

http://cheeseburn.com/

http://www.simonhitchens.com/

Dialogues 5: The NewBridge Project : Gateshead

Dialogues 5: The NewBridge Project : Gateshead
6 - 8 November 2018



Exhibition launch: Tuesday 6 November, 5:30-8pm
Open crits: Wednesday 7 November, 1-4pm
The value of critique: Thursday 8 November, 10am-12pm

To mark the culmination of Mark Devereux Projects’ (MDP) critical mentoring project, Dialogues 5, MDP will be in residence in The NewBridge Project gallery space, holding three public events that will consider the value of critique. An exhibition of new and recent artwork from the project’s participating artists – Shaun C. Badham, Holly Davey, Hannah Leighton-Boyce, Hollie Miller, and Amy & Oliver-Thomas-Irvine – will act as the catalyst for these discussions.

Over four days, the artists and MDP team will be working in the gallery testing out new developments within their respective practices, from materials to the methods of display. This test-bed approach will be informed by the extensive conversations between MDP, the artists and their assigned curatorial mentor that have taken place throughout Dialogues 5. The results can be seen at an opening between 5.30-8pm Tuesday 6 November.

Critical dialogue lies at the heart of Dialogues 5, featuring two different opportunities to further engage with this important element of artistic practice. We invite audiences to attend an open crit session to discuss the work on display in the exhibition with the artists on Wednesday 7 November. The residency will conclude with an open discussion on the morning of Thursday 8 November, which will assess the importance of critical dialogue to artists in developing their practices. Attendees are encouraged to actively contribute their thoughts, experiences and perspectives during the event.

Director Mark Devereux says, “The NewBridge Project is the perfect venue to mark the culmination of Dialogues 5. The participating artists will use the residency to test experimental new works and methodologies, which they’ve been formulating over the past eight months, as an important step in translating these discussions into their respective practices.”

Further information

The NewBridge Project : Gateshead
232-240 High Street
Gateshead
NE8 1AQ
www.thenewbridgeproject.com



Dialogues 5 is a major new project from Mark Devereux Projects providing tailored critique and mentoring for five visual artists. Selected from a national open call application process, the participating artists attended a five-day creative retreat at Clayhill Arts, Somerset, in June. The critical dialogue held before, during and after the retreat set-up curatorial mentoring between the artists and assigned mentors: Fiona Bradley (Director, Fruitmarket Gallery), David Kefford & Sarah Evans (Aid & Abet), Katie Hickman (Curator, BALTIC), Claire Mander (Director, theCoLAB) and Nathaniel Pitt (Director, Division of Labour). Dialogues 5 is supported by Arts Council England, Clayhill Arts and The NewBridge Project. Please visit markdevereuxprojects.com/artistdevelopment/dialogues-5 for more information.

The NewBridge Project is an active and vibrant artist-led community supporting the development of artists and curators through the provision of space for creative practice, curatorial opportunities and an ambitious artist-led programme of exhibitions, commissions, artist development and events. The NewBridge Project was established in 2010 to provide exchange and support in an engaged and discursive community of artists. We develop artistic talent through artist development programmes, curatorial opportunities and provision of space. The shared workspace is a critical and collaborative environment that allows artists to discuss and develop new ideas and projects.


Image: Horst (London) | Amy & Oliver Thomas-Irvine | 2018 | installation view: Averard Hotel, London | image courtesy of the artist


Mark Devereux Projects is currently supported by:

 

Copyright © 2018 Mark Devereux Projects, All rights reserved.

Boom + Bust by Bex Ilsley at GOLDTAPPED

It’s one of those days. I feel wobbly. I fill up the kettle in preparation for an uninterrupted stint in the studio and notice the pale pink silt that lines the sink. It is the remnants of the paint being used to transform the walls of the GOLDTAPPED gallery space and create a new environment for the next exhibition. This is something that I am beginning to associate with the gallery. The walls are chameleon-like, changing hue with each new exhibition. I enjoy the way that colour is used to unite different elements and creates a context for the work. This is effective for the type of installation-based work that is often presented by GOLDTAPPED.



There is something about the dimensions of the space and the colour of the walls that reminds me of the bedroom of a young girl. The wavy dark pink horizontal line that wraps around the walls somehow reminds me of my mental state. It fluctuates; up and down.



Over the course of the next few days of install I am gradually introduced to the different elements that form the whole. Mood Swing (2018) is a large pendulum constructed from aluminium and steel. Positioned in the centre of the space, there’s no avoiding it. The reflective ball hangs, a weight on the end of a line. In my mind, the gentle ebb and flow of it swinging back and forth relates to the fluctuating line on the wall. Both elements suggest time, movement, set a pace, a rhythm.



There is a catchy rhythm and tune to BEX ILSLEY Finger Family Song Daddy Mommy Nursery Rhyme Kids Sing along! FUN SUNGS and MORE (2018). This short video references the highly popular “finger family” songs that are in abundance on YouTube. In keeping with this format, Ilsley’s video features a costumed persona against an animated background. The ‘dolled-up’ character waves her hand, showing the miniscule versions of the character’s head on each fingertip. The song takes us through each of the members that make up the ‘happy family’; Daddy, Mommy, Brother, Sister and Baby finger. It is all so artificial and exaggerated. It is hardly a realistic representation of the average family unit. The far-from youthful character is sexualised and ‘adultified’.



I cannot help but reflect on the effect that technological developments are having on childhood and familial structures and relationships. I feel uncomfortable and disappointed that childhood innocence and freedom is being threatened. Similar thoughts, and a concern for her sister prompted Ilsley to create 44 loci, two light boxes leaning against the wall opposite the video screen. One light box features the character from the video, and the other is a younger version of this character, as played by Ilsley’s 10 year old sister. I recall the difficulties that I faced as I was growing up and think about the whole range of new issues that the youth of today have to deal with.



On a brighter note, I am thankful that galleries such as GOLDTAPPED are programming work that explores mental health and encourages discussions around issues raised in the exhibitions to take place across cities. Given the content of the work in the exhibition, it seems fitting that the Coventry based artist used technological platforms such as facebook and skype to work closely with the Liverpool based curator, Mia Cathcart.



The exhibition is open by appointment only until Saturday 18th August, so there is not much time left before the sink gets its next wash of GOLDTAPPED paint!

https://www.goldtapped.com/

Photos: Amelia Read

Op Art in Focus at TATE Liverpool

Op Art exhibitions tend to focus on the works of artists such as Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely who were making work at the start of the movement in the 1960s. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing works by these artists in relation to work created by contemporary artists. Included in the exhibition is one of my all-time favourite works - Jim Lambie’s Zobop which floods the entire gallery floor with psychedelic patterning.

The Drone Ensemble in Infinity Pitch, an exhibition by Pester & Rossi at The BALTIC

The Drone Ensemble were invited by the collaborative duo Pester & Rossi to host an experimental sound workshop for young gallery visitors during the Infinity Pitch exhibition at The BALTIC.

Pester & Rossi are asking visitors to make, break and re-make the rules of play. BALTIC’s largest gallery space has up to eight live action stations with activities where you can watch, listen, explore, improvise and play along with a number of enormous colourful inflatables.

We had planned a simple workshop structure that involved making megaphones for the children to use to mimic the sounds of the instruments. To make the megaphones we had prepared templates that could be used to trace the outline that was to be cut out of coloured card. Pester & Rossi have supplied rolls of coloured electrical tape for gallery visitors to use to transform the walls and floor of the gallery. This tape was also used to form and decorate the megaphones. The Drone Ensemble would perform a number of times throughout the duration of the workshop, following a score projected onto the walls and getting the children to participate at specific times. However, once we entered the space we soon realised that we would need to reassess our plans due to the existing noise levels, the nature of the space and the sheer number of children who desperately wanted to have a go at playing the instruments.

After setting up the instruments and observing how the space was being used, we had a group conflab and prepared our plan of action. Each of us was responsible for one type of instrument, and we were to demonstrate how to play the instrument. We encouraged the children (and adults) to try playing the instruments, and guided them as they did so.

I was very impressed by the children's abilities to learn how to play a new instrument, particularly the friction drums.

The gongs were extremely popular, and we were able to involve lots of the kids playing the gongs at once as we performed a number of gong parades around the gallery. Pester & Rossi have made a selection of costumes for visitors to wear, and so we encouraged the children to dress up in these. Armed with a gong in one hand, a beater in the other, and dressed in an array of brightly coloured red, green, yellow and blue outfits, we paraded around the gallery in single file making a rather colossal sound. 

The children enjoyed making the megaphones, and this activity was easy to manage as the instructions were very simple and did not require many materials or guidance. This meant that we could concentrate on playing the instruments with the children.

The workshop was a big success and Pester & Rossi were pleased with our contribution and response to their exhibition. We were exhausted afterwards, but would certainly consider doing more workshops in the future.

The gallery before REALITY CHECK

The NewBridge Project have recently secured a site in Gateshead that will be the home of the Collective Studio and a gallery. Located on High Street, it used to be Poundland and prior to that was Woolworths. Needless to say that it is not set up as gallery and studios and requires a total revamp and rebuild in order for it to be fit for purpose. Since getting the keys to the premises a few weeks ago, Dean from TILT Workshop has been working all out to get the space up and running and ready for the opening today. He has had a tremendous amount to do, ranging from plumbing the toilets to building the studios. The gallery is just part of the building. On Wednesday and Thursday we did the last coats of paint, cleaning etc

and here is the gallery before we installed the show:

  

Come tonight to see what it is like now! 

Primal Speech by Liz Magic Laser at Jupiter Artland

PRIMAL SPEECH

Liz Magic Laser

Primal Speech, an immersive mixed media installation produced by Brooklyn, NY based artist Liz Magic Laser is currently being exhibited in the Tin Roof Gallery at Jupiter Artland.

Before entering the gallery, visitors are asked to remove their shoes. The gallery has been transformed into "Laser’s futuristic version of a primal scream room with soft grey padded walls and therapeutic devices such as punching pillows and a screaming vase. The artist has created sculptural pillows that reflect regional political emblems and for the installation at Jupiter Artland the collection includes symbols for the Scottish National Party’s thistle, Scottish Labour Party’s rose and the Scottish Liberal Democrat’s bird of liberty."

Laser’s therapeutic video and environment guide viewers to express and exorcise their sociopolitical and personal frustrations. For the video, Laser assembled a pseudo therapy group composed of actors with opposing political convictions about Brexit and the upcoming U.S. presidential election. The artist encouraged them to revisit and conflate childhood traumas with their current political frustrations. Laser collaborated with Certified Professional Life Coach, Valerie Bell, trained in Primal Therapy techniques, to elicit connections between traumatic experience and political beliefs."



I felt that the work has the potential to be much more open and expansive, but because the video specifically focuses on Brexit and the U.S. presidential election, it is restricted in its scope. For reasons I am yet to fully identify and understand, there was a rather negative tone to the work, and I came out feeling as though I had been made to feel angry about something defined by someone else (i.e. Trump and the current Brexit situation). Don't get me wrong, I do not think favourably of either Trump or the decision for the UK to leave the EU, but I felt channeled and free from thinking about other situations that 'are bothering me', and therefore felt frustrated that I had not been encouraged to bring my own direction to the work. 

Make Place by Sophie Lee at ArtWork Atelier, Salford

During my recent visit to Salford, I visited gallery and studio space, ArtWork Atelier. The exhibition in the gallery was Make Place by Sophie Lee.

The exhibition consisted of a number of video projections running simultaneously with a sound installation featuring two voices in dialogue, sometimes overlapping, coming from speakers positioned around the gallery. The projections mainly focused on the Icelandic coastline and seashots, but one projection included images of objects arranged in a domestic setting and an image of a space that was constructed in the gallery.

"Make Place is a solo exhibition by Sophie Lee investigating the artist’s interpretations into notions of the home and identity. Taking inspiration from her recent visit to a group of family owned islands off the West Coast of Iceland, Lee presents a gallery installation bringing together research from over the last eight-months.

During her visit to Iceland, Lee spent time with the family’s last remaining son, who in 1981, after the passing of his mother, took it upon himself to safe hold the family’s islands from the threat of sale. Taking up sole residency on the islands, he set about building wooden, family sized houses. Now, at the age of 75, having built twenty houses and one library, he continues his work, living in almost total isolation. Holding on to a sense of the un-finished, each house is unique and marks a lasting tribute to his mother and siblings. A place of contradictions and myth, the island and its inhabitant are fixed in a state of anticipation, nostalgia, transformation and change.

Bringing together her own narratives, experiences and documentation, Make Place is an exhibition that reinterprets this story from the experiences of the artist. Within the exhibition, Lee presents a fictional spoken word narrative between the island and the inhabitant.

Make Place has been developed and produced by Mark Devereux Projects with Sophie Lee over the last year. This exhibition signals the completion of the first research and development phase of the project, which has also included a talks programme concentrating on the thematics of domesticity and identity at Salford Museum & Art Gallery."

http://sophie-lee.com/

http://www.markdevereuxprojects.com/portfolio_page/sophie-lee-make-place-exhibition/

I attended one of the talks programmed alongside the exhibition.

Edward Hollis, architect, writer and teacher discussed the notion of what makes a home.

Drawing on his book, How to make a home, Hollis spoke about how our concept of home has changed over time. The desire for privacy is a modern invention.

We were asked to spend 60 seconds drawing a house. All but one of us in the audience drew a 2-storey building with a roof, windows, door, chimney and path. Hollis explained the tendency for us to draw such symmetrical buildings - a house is a place that presents an ordered facade to the world. 

A house offers shelter, warmth and food, and is detached from the rest of the world.

The stuff in our houses remind us of who we are and what we have to do.

Islington Mill

On my recent visit to Salford I was fortunate to meet artist and maker Claire Hignett with a studio at Islington Mill. (See my other separate blog post for more information on Claire's work). She kindly agreed to show me around and tell me more about the Mill.

"Created in 2000, Islington Mill remains a work in progress; an ever-evolving creative space, arts hub and community. Scratch the surface and you’ll find a vibrant and resourceful cross disciplinary creative network; a space where conversations leads to connections, collaboration and co-creation.

Public arts programmes, residencies and galleries sit alongside recording studios, an events space and a Bed and Breakfast facility for artists. Music and visual arts mix with events and exhibitions. More than 50 businesses and 100 artists call the Mill home. More than 15,000 people visit the building every year.

Islington Mill is a celebration of the unconventional; of radical and subversive thinking – it is a place where anything feels possible. The flexibility and fluid structure is a catalyst for creativity, allowing artists, residents and tenants to challenge accepted notions of what arts and culture can do, and who can be involved. The residents treasure their independence to explore and to create; to live and work as freely and creatively as possible, fostering an openness to experiment.

The Mill was built on an ethos of experimentation, creativity and inclusivity that has evolved and clarified over time. More than just a physical venue, there is an attitude and approach that unites people. The organic network they have forged continues to evolve because of the actions of the people who get involved; they community.

Collaboration is valued – within the Mill, the local community, nationally and internationally – and they are an integral part of the area’s regeneration. Attracting and retaining talent is fundamental to what the Mill does – supporting creative entrepreneurs and facilitating the potential and promise they bring. The ethos of participation, community and open space makes Islington Mill a vital ingredient in the urban regeneration mix, both in complementing what’s on offer and generating new possibilities.

The Mill sits between the University of Salford and Manchester city centre, straddling the two cities; simultaneously at the heart of Salford’s creative community and just a 10-minute walk down Chapel Street to Manchester city centre. The studio spaces are situated across the upper floors of the main converted mill – an imposing red brick building constructed around a cobbled central courtyard.



The Mill has a variety of atmospheric, industrial spaces around the complex, including live workspace in the external outbuilding as well as a ground floor venue and gallery space." Claire even took me up to the top floor and showed me the attic. There are exciting plans to develop this space into residency studios.

Whilst walking around the building I met a few other studio holders, including US artist, educator and curator, Stina Puotinen. Stina recently exhibited at Vane Gallery in Newcastle, an exhibition I was hugely excited by and that I blogged about. What a coincidence!

http://www.islingtonmill.com/tenant/stina-puotinen/

http://www.stinapuotinen.com/

http://www.islingtonmill.com/