more exhibition news: i have had two more of my earth/bound series of works selected for a new curated art exhibition, feeling the pressure at Rhyl Arts Centre in Wales.
these are the exhibition invites, which have a curious printed lustre, looking a little like smooth granite or stone & gold on a tombstone. i do not know if this visual aesthetic interpretation was intentional, but it has a slightly apocalyptic tone - and they shimmer and change with the light...
...i also had to write about one hundred words about my art in the exhibition. in this regard, i always find myself focusing on the externalised factors (the environment) which influence the making of my art. there are other factors which are more personal to the artist, as if one's experience and perception of the environment is merely a conduit to exploring feelings about other things... feeling the pressure...the two artworks i have in this exhibition are earth/bound i and earth/bound vi; these sculptural reliefs are for sale in the exhibition (no pressure). here is a photograph of them, which i took just before i packaged them up and sent them to the gallery at rhyl arts centre.
[earth/bound i & vi, 2011, 30cm x 30cm x 5cm]
read a little more about the beginnings of the earth/bound series here.it was earlier in the year when i saw the 'open call' for artists to apply for feeling the pressure and i decided to submit an application. i was pleased to have some of my artwork selected for this exhibition as it is a new audience and context for my art.earlier in the year (or maybe it was last year) i said that i would focus on exhibitions which seemed most appropriate for my art.the other 'open' art exhibition i applied to this year was on the map at hastings museum and i was pleased to have two of my artworks selected for that exhibition too. read more about the on the map art exhibition here.the art exhibition feeling the pressure runs from
5 may to 2 June 2012 (more details about the exhibition are below).UPDATE: there's a slideshow of some of the works in the exhibition on the BBC news website......Feeling the PressureClimate change is the broad subject of this art exhibition, comprising work selected from an open call to artists across the UK. Rising sea levels, drought and over consumption in the world are just a few of the issues that artists have chosen to highlight in Feeling the Pressure, often with a touch of humour!A prize of £500 is also being awarded, and the exhibition is sponsored by TEGNI and NORTH WALES HYDROPOWER, who are working together to provide sustainable energy for future generations.
[feeling the pressure, exhibition poster]The artists exhibiting in Feeling the Pressure are:
Sonja Benskin Mesher, Mary Conway, Sarah Durham, Simon Farid, Helen Snell, Ian Brown, Stuart Carr, Martgaret Tietze, Pat Thornton, Tim Pugh, Emma Louise Preece, Simon Collinge, Mark Sheeky, Jon Kehoe, Jazz Green, Dorothea Reid, Lisa Carter, Tara Dean, David Rasores-Parry, Anne-Mie Melis, John Clarke, Sue Clarke, Lin Cummins, Simon Job, Andy Owen, Harriet Challis–Jones, Jane Glennie, Clarrie Flavell, Jim Taylor, Esther Tew.Feeling the Pressure5 May – 2 June 2012Rhyl Arts CentreChurch StreetRhylWALESLL18 3AAExhibition open: Monday to Friday 10am - 5pm; Saturday 10am - 12.30pmView location on Google Maps...
on art and the sea
a few days back i attended a one day conference at the UEA (university of east anglia), art and the sea. there was an engaging and diverse mix of contributors in the day's programme, from scientists to museum curators, and artists.thinking about the effects of the sea on the coastline got me thinking again about the small experimental water paintings i had begun last year (and what i was trying to explore)...
...and also these, my 'after the storm' wabi sabi relic bowls...
[ashore, or washed up...]...and an earlier piece of work from 2006-2007...
...
[a view of covehithe cliffs, new year's eve, 2007]...many perspectives of the sea (specifically the east coast) were analysed, discussed and reflected upon: symbolism in art and literature, mythology, ancient settlements, archaeology, heritage & social history, oceanography, mapping and geology. interestingly, some current research into the changing coastline is using art (mostly paintings) as a key measure of evidencing change. there was also a presentation of a research paper on JMW Turner's relationship to the sea which was also very engaging (if not provocative in its assumptions about Turner's life experiences), and the day concluded with some contemporary artists making brief presentations on their work about the coast.needless to say, climate change, sea levels, coastal erosion and the environment were at the forefront of the discussions & i left the conference in a contemplative frame of mind - and with many pages of my sketchbook filled with many quotes, notes, drawings, diagrams & doodles documenting the day. there was quite a lot of literature to take home too...just a week or so before i had spent a day at the coast, once again gazing up at the ever-eroding cliffs...
and just below the line of this photograph, i spied a thin stream of brightly-coloured blue-green stones or pebbles, so I scrambled up the slope and gathered a few into my hand - and with a unbridled feeling of excitement, holding something which had not been 'seen' for centuries. i do not know what these small rock fragments are but I considered they must have some copper mineral in them...
[green treasure]...a while back, i took some photographs, close ups, of the surface of one of my earth/bound paintings, using a torchlight - and now, when i look at the pictures i can see a volcano (i think i may have broken the 'child's' microscope, trying to adapt it...)
...
earthbound
i have been looking through a (not so black) hole again. from this secret perspective this painting's surface looks rather like a malformed, distant planet...
somewhere high above, looking through a porthole, slowly coming into land (again)...
and below, closer to terra firma...
...
earth/bound II, 2011, 30cm x 30cm, mixed media on panelearth/bound II is one of a series of new works on panel, and this work will be included in the annual artworks exhibition, a group exhibition of the work of thirty East Anglian artists, which runs from 10 september to 2 october 2011 (10am - 5pm, open daily)...why have i called this work 'earth/bound'? (with a forward slash, denoting and/or)put simply, its matter is of the earth, it is both created from the earth and it goes back to the earth - and here it appears to be grounded. bound is an intriguing word in the english language because as well as implying containment or enclosure, something confined or restricted, or bound by the ties of duty or responsibility, conversely it also implies a free or sudden movement, bounding off, heading off, towards or travelling back. this mix of meanings and interpretations seemed very relevant, in the strata or layers of personal significance, the context of its making is everything - but there is also something else breaking through the surface (something for another day).i have only shown a small glimpse of this work in progress so as to generate some intrigue prior to the opening of the artworks exhibition. i am looking forward to showing some new artwork in 2011. i am not sure if this work, 'earth/bound' should really be termed a painting, as it is more of a wall-based carved relief or construction, a flat(tened) sculpture....imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were, but without it we go nowhere.carl sagan...if you are intrigued to see the 'whole' of 'earth/bound', you might have to visit the 12th annual artworks exhibition (where there will also be new art from twenty nine other east anglian artists).entry to the artworks exhibition is free and there is lots of free parking. there will also be a smaller gallery 'shop' with a dynamic display of small paintings, original prints, drawings, collage, glass, ceramics and a range of artist cards for sale.…
earth/bound II, 2011, 30cm x 30cm, mixed media relief on panel…
...artworks annual exhibition, blackthorpe barn, rougham, suffolk, 10 september to 2 october 2011 (10am - 5pm, open daily)Artworks is a professional art group of thirty contemporary East Anglian artists. Each September we have an annual showcase exhibition in the historic setting of Blackthorpe Barn in Suffolk....p.s. i also have some new pieces of work in the Reunion Gallery's 'Refresh' tenth anniversary exhibition, on right now up until 22 Oct 2011 (it's a fabulous contemporary art space run by two professional artists, verena daniels & pat todd, who work in glass and ceramics respectively)....