KIELDER: OFF SITE EXHIBITION PREVIEW THURSDAY 12TH MAY - XL GALLERY 6-8PM

KEILDER: ON SITE / OFF SITE

EXHIBITION PREVIEW – THURSDAY 12TH MAY, 6-8PM,

XL GALLERY, KING EDWARD VII BUILDING

EXHIBITION OPEN DAILY 13/05 - 23/05

KEILDER: ON SITE / OFF SITE is a collaborative project initiated by Newcastle University’s Fine Art Department and The Keilder Partnership, which commenced in summer 2015. The ambitious year-long project set out with the aim of practically exploring the opportunities of the unique environment of Kielder Forest for visual art. The project will culminate in the creation of a group of semi-temporary works created by staff and students to be sited in the forest and Keilder Observatory (launching 17/06/16).

OFF SITE is an exhibition of work created by participants of the project which will be housed in the Ex-Libris Gallery opening a month before ON SITE launches in Keilder Forrest and Water Park. The exhibition will provide an insight into the working methodologies of the artists involved and will serve as a space to critically question the notion and importance of location, scale and collaboration whilst working both in and outside the conventional gallery setting. The exhibition will contain a variety of works spanning from different stages of the project, from conceptual and technical drawings right through to finished works yet to be installed on location. A temporary and short exhibition run has lent itself to creating works on site which suggest at the possible outcomes of some of the projects involved.

Please join us for the preview of OFF SITE on Thursday 12th May at 6pm at the Ex-Libris Gallery in King Edward VII building (Newcastle Fine Art Department) for some drinks and more information about the project at large. An accompanying publication about the project will be distributed in the near future, and will be available from various locations in both greater Newcastle and Keilder.

Participating Artists:

Mirela Bistran / Rochus Braun / Simon Court / Sarah Grundy / Anthony Hensman / Oliver Hoffmeister & Harry Pickup / Eve Kossmann / JJ Lloyd / Helen Shaddock and Pipi-Lovell Smith / Leina Taylor

 KEILDER: ONSITE / OFFSITE is funded by The Bartlett Fine Art Endowment, and supported by The Forestry Commission, Northumbrian Water and Keilder Art and Architecture.

Fluorescent tape has arrived!

After carefully planning the design of our artwork for the Kielder exhibition in the XL Gallery, we calculated how much tape we were likely to need, and did a mammoth order of different thicknesses of tape.

The order has arrived and now we can start the process of installing in the gallery.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Ideas for Kielder Project exhibition in the XL Gallery

The artists who are participating in the Kielder project have been given the opportunity to hold an exhibition in the XL Gallery at Newcastle University next week. The exhibition in the XL Gallery should relate to the work that is going to be located at Kielder, but it does not need to be a version of the work that will be displayed in Kielder.

Pipi and I want to use the exhibition to present a work that exists separately from TRIGGER, our audio installation that will be sited at Kielder this Summer. We are producing TRIGGER especially for the site, and do not think it would be appropriate to locate it in the gallery. 

The structure in which the audio will be played from is going to be patterned using fluorescent paint and hi-vis tape. We thought that the exhibition in the XL Gallery could be used to test out patterns with the paint and tape.

We created a number of designs, and rather than choosing one of them, we incorporated the different aspects we liked from each design to form a final design. 

It's what you make of it - Anna MacRae and Helen Shaddock - Exhibition photos

Sushi Series performance

On Thursday evening as part of the 'Yes, but is it editable?' exhibition in the ExLibris Gallery at Newcastle University, I did a performance called Sushi Series.

The premise of the exhibition is to examine ways in which form and image can be reproduced, shared and transformed through the creation of a multiple. Artists have responded to this in a number of ways and have used a wide range of materials and processes.

I was keen to make a work specifically for the exhibition opening, and wanted to produce something beautiful by performing a number of processes, rather like what happens on a production line. My intention to share the process and outcome with the audience lead me to develop a sushi making performancI set up a table with all the equipment and ingredients that I needed to make a selection of different types of sushi. I had spent the Wednesday evening preparing lots of sushi and so had a supply to start with.

I had prepared a range of vegetarian Maki sushi "rolled sushi". The specific type of maki sushi I made was Chumaki. Chumaki sushi refers to the medium sized roll with the rice and filling on the inside and seaweed on the outside. There are usually 2-3 fillings in Chumaki as opposed to a single filling in Homomaki.

During the performance I made more Chumaki. The fillings available were


- avocado
- cucumber
- pepper
- carrot
- spring onion
- prawns
- crab sticks
- smoked salmon

I used a variety of combinations of ingredients, and made bespoke sushi for people. They could each choose their own combination of ingredients. People got very excited, and made some ambitious requests, meaning that some of the sushi turned out to be Futomaki, which are large rolls of maki sushi with 4 or more fillings!

In addition to the maki, on the evening, (with a little guidance from fellow sushi fan, Irene), I also made Nigiri sushi. Nigirizushi or Nigiri Sushi basically means "hand-pressed sushi".


Sushi rice is formed into an oblong shape using the palm of one hand and the forefinger and thumb of the other, then it is topped with a swipe of wasabi and covered with Neta (a topping that is normally some type of seafood, but can also be a Japanese Omelette, chicken, horse or something else).


Some toppings are bound with a thin strip of nori around the middle.

I really enjoyed the evening and being able to share something with others. It was well suited to the occasion of the art opening, and I was positioned in a good place within the gallery as it invited people into the space, and did not disturb the other works too much.

I am beginning to realise that my role in the activation of the work is important, and am keen to explore this further.





















I

Yes, but is it editable? ExLibris Gallery, Newcastle University, Thursday 5th November - Saturday 14th November 2015

Yes, but is it editable? 

ExLibris Gallery, 

Newcastle University, 

Thursday 5th November - Saturday 14th November 2015

A joint exhibition between l’Ecole Supérieure des Beaux Arts, Montpellier, France (ESBAMA) and the School of Fine Art, Newcastle University

The theme of the exhibition is to examine ways in which form and image can be reproduced, shared and transformed through the creation of a multiple. This may refer to a series or multiple components, using traditional means of reproduction, such as printing to more contemporary forms of digital printing, or painting, photography, video, sculpture, collage, film, artists books and text.