Orla Kiely on BBC Radio 4 Front Row

As a fan of surface and pattern design, I was interested to listen to Thursday's edition of Front Row on BBC Radio 4. On the eve of the opening of the first exhibition dedicated to designer Orla Kiely, she was interviewed by Shahidha Bari. Orla Kiely discussed the origins of her work at a kitchen table in Ireland and why she thinks that pattern can make you happy without even noticing.



The exhibition is at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London and is said to "explore all aspects of Orla’s creative output, from lifestyle and fashion ranges to use of colour and detail and the geometry of pattern." 

The exhibition draws "on an archive of over 20 years of work, offering visitors unparalleled insight into her methods and concepts, exploring sketches, mood boards, samples and a range of making techniques."



http://www.ftmlondon.org/ftm-exhibitions/orla-kiely-life-in-pattern/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b39v7b

Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains at V & A Museum

I have my Dad to thank for my love of the music of Pink Floyd. As a child I was introduced to a wide range of music, including Mike and the Mechanics, David Bowie, The Beautiful South, UB40, The Police, Eurythmics, Prefab Sprout, REM, and Fairport Convention. I can't say that I enjoyed all of his music, but I am grateful to him for bringing me up with such an eclectic mix of sounds. 

It is as I have grown older that I have been able to appreciate the lyrics of Pink Floyd for what they are. The story behind the band and the band members is an interesting one. There are only a few bands that are worth of such an extensive exhibition and, as the David Bowie exhibition at the V&A Museum showed, if the story is a good one, then an amazing exhibition can follow.

The Pink Floyd exhibition at the V&A Museum is full of material from artwork, posters, memorabilia, instruments, props, set designs, album designs, interviews with the musicians, song lyrics, videos and of course, plenty of music.

The exhibition is ordered chronologically, taking you through the history of the band, and focusing on some of the important aspects and influences. The psychedelic beginnings, politics, their use of lighting, circular screens and set design are all covered in the material in the exhibition.

The band embraced Roger Walters idea of the everyday problems of modern life, and made Dark Side of the Moon to address such issues as money, death, violence and madness. 

I was overwhelmed by the wealth of material that was included in the exhibition, and I spent over 3 hours enjoying what was on offer.

The many video interviews provide unique insights into things that happened behind the scenes. The story of the escaping inflatable pig is one that will always amuse me!

Even with all the mod cons of present day, the visuals they were producing for their shows years ago are top notch. Going to one of their concerts was a feast for the eyes and ears, and this certainly is the case for the exhibition as a whole.

Although the fee is rather high in terms of exhibition entry prices, I feel that given the amount of material and high tech equipment included in the show, it is understandable why that kind of price is required to make it possible. It is, in my opinion, money well spent.

The final room in the exhibition is a surround sound and visual delight. It is as though you are at one of the concerts.

I can only urge people to go to this exhibition. It is one of the most powerful museum exhibits I have ever experienced, and, although I think it helps that I am a Pink Floyd music fan, there are plenty of things to interest anyone not necessarily a fan of their music.

Forms in Space…by Light (in Time) by Cerith Wyn Evans at Tate Britain

Forms in Space…by Light (in Time) is the 2017 Tate Britain Commission in which a contemporary British artist is invited to respond to the Duveen Galleries at Tate Britain.

"The artwork is made from almost 2km of neon lighting, suspended from the ceiling and configured into straight lines, sweeping curves and spiralling forms."

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/tate-britain-commission-2017

A lot can happen in a day - performance

The evening  performance session provided a natural close for the one-day workshop.

Having spent the morning reading and discussing the publication, A lot can happen in fifteen minutes, in the reading group, the afternoon spoken word workshop focussed on how to transform words that exist on a page into a spoken word performance. The group developed a spoken word performance using one of the texts within the publication as a starting point.

                             













I began the evening by providing a brief introduction to the publication and an overview of the workshop. I performed a version of 'As planned', one of the texts in the publication that the group chose to work with, and this was closely followed by the group performing what we had worked on during the afternoon workshop. 

















A question and answer session then followed, and the audience were very generous in offering feedback and comments.



Question included 

What were your motivations for writing?
How did this work develop out of your Masters studies?
How did your family react to being written about?

I ended the event by performing another of the texts within the publication, The flat was in sight. 

It seems that the workshop and performance event were really positive experiences, both for myself, the workshop members and the audience. I would like to thank all that were involved, including Alice and Sophie from Turf Gallery and Katharine from Disobedient films for documenting the day. Many thanks also to those who attended the workshop and the performance.

My publication can be purchased at Turf Projects or online http://unstapledpress.bigcartel.com/product/a-lot-can-happen-in-fifteen-minutes

A lot can happen in a day - Spoken Word Workshop

The second part of my workshop at Turf Projects was a Spoken Word workshop. Leading on from the Reading Group in the morning session, I gave the group a number of options about the dirrection they wanted the workshop to take. Given that the group would be performing the outcome of the session, they decided that they were most interested in using the text within the publication as a starting point (as opposed to writing their own text), and thinking about how to reinterpret it and deliver it as a spoken word performance.



The text chosen for the performance was called 'As planned', and it was written in two columns, with each column suggesting a different character. It had previously been performed by two people, each of whom read one column of the text.





The group reinterpreted the text and identified there being four characters - a father figure, a mother figure, the subject, the internal thoughts of the subject.



We began by taking each sentence and identifying which character was speaking.





Most of the text remained the same as the original, but we did change the tense used by the internal thoughts of the subject.



Once we had identified the different characters, we tested out assigning different roles to different people in the group.



After some experimentation, we agreed on the line up for the performance. 

The natural interpretation was that the subject was younger than the father and mother figure, so we decided to mix that up and use one of the older members of the group to perform the character of the subject.





We then tested out the positioning of the performers in relation to the audience.



We decided where the audience would sit and set out the seating as it would be for the performance. 

We positioned one of the characters (the internal thoughts of the subject) amongst the audience so as to differentiate it from the other characters.



We filmed ourselves rehearse and re-watched the footage so as to identify any habits that were problematic or ways that the performance could be improved.

A lot can happen in a day - reading group

One of the galleries selling my publication, A lot can happen in fifteen minutes is Turf Projects, the first entirely artist-run contemporary art space in Croydon, South London.



Turf Projects are a charity organisation working to support the development of artists, curators and the public through an ambitious programme of free exhibitions, workshops and events.



Established by creatives with a personal connection to the borough, Turf now comprises; a gallery space exhibiting work from emerging & established artists; an artists workspace & events space; and an affordable studio provision for artists & makers.



In an attempt to prompt dialogue and discussion about the themes raised in my publication, to get feedback from readers about my publication, and to think of new ways of presenting the text within the publication, I developed a workshop to take place at Turf Projects in their Workspace and event space.



The workshop was broken down into three separate, but linked, sections. The reading group in the morning was an opportunity for the group to discuss the content of the publication. The group read a number of the texts; sometimes the same text was read, but by different people. This highlighted the different ways in which the same material can be interpreted.



We tried reading some of the texts as a group, and others we read just by one person. We spoke about the difference between reading them aloud and silently. I was reassured by the extent to which people related to the content within the publication. Although the texts refer to highly personal experiences, they have aspects that resonate with others due to the overarching emotions or themes.

Bethlem Museum of the Mind

On my recent trip to London for my event at Turf Projects in Croydon, I paid a visit to the Bethlem Museum of the Mind.



Bethlem Museum of the Mind is situated within the Bethlem Royal Hospital grounds, in a stunning Art Deco building shared with the Bethlem Gallery. The museum cares for an internationally renowned collection of archives, art and historic objects, which together offer an unparalleled resource to support the history of mental healthcare and treatment. It was formally opened by artist Grayson Perry in March 2015.

Bethlem Royal Hospital was founded in 1247 and was the first institution in the UK to specialise in the care of the mentally ill. The hospital continues to provide in-patient care as part of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and has been based in south London since 1930.



I was specifically interested in research pertaining to my current investigations into auditory hallucinations, but found the museum to be interesting on many levels.




http://museumofthemind.org.uk/

A lot can happen in a day

Reading Group, Spoken Word Workshop and Performance with Helen Shaddock

Saturday 22nd July 2017

11am - 8pm



TURF Projects

Gallery, Workspace & Studios

Keeley Road

Croydon

CR0 1TF




FREE!

Booking required

DESCRIPTION

READING GROUP (1.5 – 2 hours approx.) 11am-1:00pm

The reading group will focus on the publication, ‘A lot can happen in fifteen minutes’, and will include a question and answer session with artist Helen Shaddock.


WRITING & SPOKEN WORD WORKSHOP 2-5pm

Participants will engage in writing and spoken word exercises, and develop a text in relation to some of the themes discussed in the reading group. Working individually or in groups, participants will develop a spoken word performance based on their own writing or using a text from the ‘A lot can happen in fifteen minutes’ publication.


SPOKEN WORD PERFORMANCE EVENING 6-8pm

In the evening, members of the Spoken Word workshop will present individual and/or group spoken word performances that were developed during the day’s workshop.



To register for the event (ideally all day, but the different aspects can be attended separately), visit

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-lot-can-happen-in-a-day-reading-group-spoken-word-workshop-performance-with-helen-shaddock-tickets-35460169321


https://www.facebook.com/events/242095779609157/?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%2222%22%2C%22feed_story_type%22%3A%2222%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D&pnref=story

For more information please contact Helen Shaddock

http://www.helenshaddock.co.uk/contact/index.php

Front Row reviews 'This is a voice'

Wednesday's edition of Front Row on BBC Radio 4 features a review of 'This is a Voice', a new exhibition at the Wellcome Collection in London which has brought together a number of works by artists who have been inspired by the voice. 

It examines how tone, pitch and tempo can communicate meaning and emotion so effectively that words become unnecessary. Joan La Barbara, a composer known for her explorations of "extended" vocal techniques, and Imogen Stidworthy, whose video work explores how our voice affects our sense of self, respond to the exhibition and discuss why the voice is such an inspiration for them.

http://bbc.in/1MuorRO

THIS IS A VOICE

Wellcome Collection
183 Euston Road
London NW1 2BE

14th April - 31st July 2016

THIS IS A VOICE creates an acoustic journey through art, sound and film to capture the elusive nature of the human voice. From its origins within the body, to the sounds ringing in our heads, this exhibition celebrates the oral and the aural, with live performances in the gallery each day.

The exhibition features the work of artists and vocalists including Joan La Barbara, Imogen Stidworthy, Sam Belinfante, Enrico David, Meredith Monk, Marcus Coates, Anna Barham and Emma Smith, and visitors can add their own voices to the mix as part of an interactive new commission by electronic musician Matthew Herbert.

http://wellcomecollection.org

SOPHIE MACKFALL: WE EAT AND DRINK AND SIT BY FIRES at NEW STUDIO

Saturday 3 October - Sunday 1 November 2015

(Preview Friday 2 October 6-8 pm)


Open Saturday and Sunday 12-6pm and by appointment

NEW STUDIO
4-17 Frederick Terrace
Haggerston
E8 4EW


NEW STUDIO presents a new series of paintings by Sophie Mackfall in her first solo show in London.

Part of an emerging generation of British artists, Mackfall demonstrates an expanded approach to painting by embracing the scale and surface of the spatial situations in which she works. Her approach takes its cue from 20th century philosophical ideas around human existence and creativity, alongside utopian notions of abstraction. Informed by an ongoing critical investigation of social movements including Anthroposophic theory and her own experiences of Steiner education, Mackfall creates encounters between material, colour, form and environment to point towards an indefinable quality of lived experience.


Often suspended across a room, or applied directly to a wall, Mackfall’s works draw upon a range of ‘to hand’ materials, from paper and glass to fabric, string and wicker, to create rhythmic installations that hover between domestic intimacy and a broader architectural landscape. For NEW STUDIO Mackfall presents a new series of paintings on glass fragments. Cut to shapes that evoke the curvature of the human body they are collectively assembled as a sculptural installation in direct response to the gallery interior.

http://www.newstudio.org.uk/sophiemackfall/

Jerwood Drawing Prize 2015

'The Jerwood Drawing Prize is the largest and longest running annual open exhibition for drawing in the UK.

Selected from original drawings, the Jerwood Drawing Prize has established a reputation for its commitment to championing excellence, and to promoting and celebrating the breadth of contemporary drawing practice within the UK.'

Artists can deliver their submissions to one of various collection points around the UK, and a courier delivers the artworks to the Jerwood Space in London where they are judged, and the unsuccessful submissions are returned to the collection points to be picked up by the artists.

Earlier in the year I was involved in this process, working at the North East collection point based at Newcastle University. It was certainly challenging, but very interesting to see what people were entering, and intriguing to find out which artworks were chosen from the North East. I was curious to discover the full complement of artists and artworks that form the 2015 exhibition.

'A total of 60 works by 58 artists, including one collaboration, have been selected for exhibition by the panel; Dexter Dalwood, artist; Salima Hashmi, artist, curator and writer; and John-Paul Stonard, art historian.

The Jerwood Drawing Prize 2015 artists are: Elisa Alaluusua, Ian Andrews, Robert Battams, Frances Blane, Hannah Blight-Anderson, Pia Bramley, Pete Burke, John Close, Julie Cockburn, Daniel Crawshaw, Gerry Davies, Cinzia Delnevo, Sammy Dent, Emma Douglas, Bryan Eccleshall, Pennie Elfick, Susan England, Exchange + Draw, Mark Farhall, Craig Fisher, Nina Fowler, Thomas Gosebruch, Thomas Harrison, Roland Hicks, William Hughes, Julia Hutton, Mehr Javed, Ben Johnson, Ali Kayley, Nigel Kingsbury, Lois Langmead, Gary Lawrence, Juliette Losq, William Mackrell, Sean Maltby, Grace McMurray, Anouk Mercier, Mary Millner, Joonhong Min, Paul Peden, Lee John Phillips, Ruth Philo, Giulia Ricci, Annette Robinson, Jenny Ross ,Gabriela Schutz, Sarah Seymour, Caroline Shadbolt, Soheila Sokhanvari, Charlotte Steel, Hanna ten Doornkaat, John Thole, Caroline Truss, Alan Turnbull, Ronis Varlaam, Rosie Vohra, Roy Willingham, Martha Zmpounou.

Speaking about the winning works, Professor Anita Taylor, director of the Jerwood Drawing Prize project, said: “The commitment and endeavour of artists and designers, emerging and mature, to use drawing as a vital means of creativity and as a means to explore and understand the world anew, is significant. The award winners deploy drawing in various forms to both document and to question our perceptions.”

Jerwood Drawing Prize 2015 continues at Jerwood Space, London until 25 October 2015.

The exhibition will then tour to venues across the UK, including Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum: The Wilson (21 November 2015 – 31 January 2016), Sidney Cooper Gallery, Canterbury (11 February – 9 April 2016), and Falmouth Art Gallery (23 April – 25 June 2016).'

http://www.jerwoodvisualarts.org/jerwood-drawing-prize-2015

https://www.a-n.co.uk/news/singapore-view-wins-jerwood-drawing-prize-2015