Round Robin (this is how we got to here)

Round Robin (this is how we got to here), 2011, Hand drawn wrapping paper, printed on A0

Round Robin (this is how we got to here), 2011, Hand drawn wrapping paper, printed on A0, cardboard, satin and velvet ribbon.  Office Christmas Party, Ahmed & Carpenter, 15th Dec 2011

It has been a good, productive year.  I do not want to list month by month all that I have done, rather a few highlights. I also outlined these in the wrapping paper I drew for the Round Robin (this is how we got to here) sculpture for Ahmed & Carpenter's Office Christmas Party.  On the paper, each bauble represented a month and its major or sometimes minor events.

So 2011 was: moving from London to Manchester with China and Cheshire in between, obtaining a Grants for the Arts, living and making for 6 weeks in Chongqing, exhibiting more this year, and getting engaged.

Here are my guidelines for living (to myself) for 2012, I would like to share:

- Exercise 3 times a week.
- Eat lots of fruit and veg, cut down on meat.
- Always have a book on the go, read before bed time as much as possible.
- Listen to music more too, but remember the benefit in sensorial silence.
- Remember the past is practice, no one jumps straight into the director's seat.
- When I do not achieve my goals, evaluate what I can learn from my mistakes that can help me be successful in the future.
- Treat others as I would like to be treated myself.
- Strive to improve my time management between paid work, creative exploration and making, and seeking and administering new opportunities.
- Enjoy the making!

Best Wishes for 2012!

Is part time lecturing still a viable employment for practising artists?

This month, I wrote an article for The Rant series of Axis - the online resource for contemporary art.  The piece explored the current situation of cuts to part time and visiting lecturers hours on foundation diploma courses, which leads me to question the validity of this employment for practising artists, and the future quality of this course.

To read the article, and have your own say on this matter, click here.

Truth and Lies (Part 2) - Certainty and Fallacy....

Part 2 of my series of blog posts, 'Truth and Lies' is now online on the or-bits.com blog.  This post explores ideas of certainty and fallacy in relation to physical and digital architectures.

To read click here.

 

CUBEOpen 2011 Exhibition

One of my drawings, 'Network Community Towerblock', has been selected for the CUBE Gallery Open Exhibition, which opens this coming Thursday from 6-8pm.  Hope you can also make it along to see the show!

Participating artists:

Andrew Brown, Samuel Capps, Mark Clare, Justine Cook, Aideen Doran and Fionnuala Doran, Kelda Free and David Brazier, Becky Gee, Isabelle Hayeur, Flis Holland, Philip Kennedy, Seulki Ki, Ian Kirkpatrick , Elizabeth Kwant, Hannah Leighton–Boyce, Manchester Modernist Society, Fabien Marques, , Katie McGown, Rosalie Monod de Froideville, Charlotte Mortensson, Lauren O'Grady, Simon Parish, Nathan Pendlebury, Kristin Posehn, Rosey Prince, Robin Pugh, Amanda Rice, Ailie Rutherford, Jennie Savage, Shift (from Shift//Delete), Jon Spencer, Jenny Steele, Matthew Thompson, Tristan Thomson, Pamela Valfer, Mary-Ruth Walsh, Peter Ward, Jiho Won.

Preview 15th December 2011, 6- 8pm
Exhibition runs 16th December - 4th February 2012

CUBE
113 - 115 Portland Street
Manchester
M1 6DW
tel: +44 [0] 161 237 5525
fax: +44 [0] 161 236 5815
email: info@cube.org.uk

Admission FREE

Opening times:
Mon-Fri 12-5:30pm
Saturdays 12-5pm
Sundays closed
Centre for the Urban Built Environment is a registered charity no. 1063177

Getting to CUBE
By Metrolink: Cube is 2 minutes walk from St Peter's Square - with 5 minutes tram connection to Victoria and Piccadilly main line stations. By Car
Pay and display car parking is available at the Novotel on Dickenson Street (M1 4LX), off Portland St, which is located directly opposite to CUBE.
Alternatively, 24hr parking at Chorlton Street, GMex/St Peter's Fields or Palace NCP are all 5 minutes walk from Cube. FREE on street parking from 6pm.

By Foot
Cube is situated at the Oxford Road end of Portland Street.

Office Christmas Party - Thursday 15th Dec 2011, 6-9pm

I am showing a sculpture at the 'Office Christmas Party' exhibition at Ahmed & Carpenter, at Rogue Studios next Thursday from 6-9pm.  Other exhibiting artists include Annie Carpenter, Nick Crowe &  Ian Rawlinson, Daniel Fogarty, Dave Griffiths, Fran Blythe, Hannah Brown, Hilary Jack, Ian Hartshone, Jenny Steele, Kevin Burns, Liz West, Mark Kennard, Matt Bamber, Mike Chavez Dawson & Len Horsey, Ross McCarry, Taneesha Ahmed and Unravel - the longest hand painted film in Britain.  Hope to see you there!
 

Truth or Lies (Part 1)

My first blog post for Or-bits.com TRUTH programme was published last week.  It starts like this....

the ultimate knowledge = the honest knowledge = truth?

On a conscious and critical level, the notion that actual ‘truth’ exists, or is a worthwhile entity for which to search for in everyday postmodernist digital society, strikes me, at first, as a pointless exercise. What possible ‘truth’ is there within the endless streams of tweets, posts and sites that are so riddled with self-promotion, spin, and often masked authorship? How does ‘truth’ online relate to any considered ‘truth’ in physical space?

We ‘all’ know that the situation of living within postmodern digital society offers endless multiple speculations, criticisms, theories. There is no complete certainty, no evidence that can be ruled out entirely as a lie, and definitely no one way of living. The notion of ‘truth’ and its necessity for living is redundant, right? Or on the other hand, is the belief of ‘truth’ embedded so deeply in our cognitive mind set and behaviour – that we seek by way of discovering information, an attempt to reveal a ‘truth’?

We are educated in institutions that often advocate the importance of truth...... To read the rest of the piece follow this link - http://www.or-bits.com/blog/.

Further documentation from Sat 22nd Oct Open day Event..

Gerald Curtis

‘Studio Chess’ Performance, 2-3pm


Gerald presents a new performance investigating the idea of reclusive studio artists, using a vocabulary of actions and phrases of work commonly found among the studio environment. Gerald is an artist working in performance, exploring the uses of language and their impact on our perceptions of our everyday environment. He has previously performed on Resonance FM, at the RCA and has most recently shown part of his new targets' series as part of East Pop Red. William Kherbeck is a writer and critic, semi-recovered musician (post-punk/proto-silence) and occasional performer.

Studio Chess


Two participants are required to sit at a table in order to play. Sessions last one hour, timed. One participant is charged with making actions and another is given the task of interfering with the person who tries to complete the actions. The actions and interferences can be defined like so:


Actions Interferences

 making tea - unplug kettle

 drinking tea - knocking plastic cups over

 placing plastic cup on table - out out water container

 eating food - spill water

 drawing - crush cups

 writing - hide food

 walking - throw food

 sitting - erase drawing

 speaking * - break pencils

 erasing work - pulling away chair

 body gestures*1 - impede movement

- stand on chair

- sit in chair

- move chair

- break./throw

- hit

- talk louder

- interrupt

- take objects/items

- redraw

- block with hand/object



* The person committing actions has a scripted number of requests that s/he must adhere to. This list is:

shall I put the kettle on?

want a beer?

how does that look?

do you know where the steps are?

I don't think this is resolved

do you think this is resolved?

Can I borrow some [list item(s)]?

have you seen my [list item(s)]?



*1 studio body gestures include: scratching of limbs and facial features, foot tapping, finger tapping, yawning.


Items for play

table, two chairs, drawing materials, paper, kettle, radio, plastic cups, snacks, water, tea bags, plastic spoons.

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Frog Morris
‘Deptford Poetry’ Performance, 2011, 4pm

Frog Morris will perform a collection of poems he has written inspired by Deptford. Let him guide you through a world of pie shops, pubs, giant african snails, cafe-galleries, secondhand videos and any-scoop-a-pound vegetables.

Frog Morris is an artist, poet and performer. His work celebrates those moments of British culture that leave us unsure whether to laugh or cry.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Matthew Bamber
Live Streaming



‘Box 3’ consists of a sealed cardboard structure (1220mm x 1020mm x 890mm), an internal camera and a monitor. Only the monitor is displayed within Hatch Space. The cardboard structure and its camera are located in Bamber's studio in Manchester. The monitor displays the interior physical environment of “Box 3” as recorded by its camera and streamed live via the internet to Hatch Space.

‘Box 3’ explores perceptions of interior space (real or imagined), enclosure and physical distance. In both its locations, the interior of “Box 3” is sealed physically from the “actual” world. Screened off from “real” space, the interior is accessible but only as a “virtual” space.

About Matthew Bamber –

“The function of the studio is the making of a work of art for an ideal place, a work which may be endlessly manipulated.” Daniel Buren.

Matthew's practice involves the collection of data from experimental projects and spaces.

He is interested in recording time spent in the studio, what it means to make art in a studio space, and in making the everyday strange.

An unexpected other occupant we found in the floor..

FILMS, PERFORMANCE, LIVE STREAMING


For the Open Day Event on Saturday 22nd October 2011, Hill and Steele invited other artists to co-occupy the gallery space. Their work explores themes of multiple occupancy from different perspectives with, and outwith the local area.

With special thanks to Katie Bryer for her expert editing help.




Nicola Smith
‘Cut Intervention’ Liverpool, 2009, Video: 5 minutes, 7 seconds.


Nicola Smith created interventions based on the use and history of the site. An ongoing debate as to whether Liverpool One shopping centre is a public or privatised space sparked my interest in testing the boundaries of acceptable activity in the area.

Nicola Smith is a Manchester based visual artist who makes work in response to the context of my surroundings and use different mediums such as live art intervention, performance lectures, sound and video. Smith punctuates situations in public and private spaces by playing out a series of actions, which takes on many forms, in order to disrupt the expectations of the audience.



John Deller
‘Spinning Pillbox’ 2011, Animation: 1 minute, 39 seconds.


This short animation is a part of my long-term fascination with WWII pillboxes – in particular the small hexagonal Type 22. From being hastily built in response to the looming threat of Nazi invasion they have withstood 70 years of functional and cultural change. Derelict forgotten structures being reclaimed by time and nature, reflecting the rapidly fading memories of the volunteers that once kept watch. The pillboxes remain as markers echoing the changing use of the landscape encouraged by industrial and social upheavals within the previous seven decades. The loss of many of our railway lines abandoning some of the pillboxes in uncertain and clumsy locations. Areas of “non-space” that would seem to have little or no strategic relevance to the contemporary landscape. Human-scale camera obscuras they look inwards at a readymade history whilst looking outwards towards an uncertain future yet silently holding a constant vigil upon our beaches and within our towns and countryside.


Helena Doyle
‘Follow Me Home’ 2011, HD Video, 6 minutes, 54 seconds


A continuous shot community film shot in the artist's hometown in Ireland. The town Castledermot in it's heyday used to be a busy market town abundant with culture, now it is a drive through recession town. The piece focuses on moments as they are created through a life time spent in a building central to the town's social life.

Helena Doyle is a filmmaker and installation artist from Ireland. Recently she completed a Masters in Art & Media Practice at Universityof Westminster. She is a member of the Utrophia collective based in Deptford.



Inigo Rousham
‘A place for us’ 2011, Digital video: 4 mins 38 seconds

‘A place for us’, is a patchwork of encounters and observations gathered from the newly developed Windrush Square in the centre of Brixton. In keeping with London`s status as a ‘World City’ the development of the square is part of a larger project, initiated by Ken Livingstone, to build 100 new public spaces in London. Since its opening in 2009 Rousham has made frequent visits to the square documenting the movements and voices of its inhabitants and visitors. Sometimes working collaboratively and, at other times alone, Rousham has found that fugitive patterns and stories emerge only to fall away again.

Inigo Rousham has a background in Fine Art and has recently completed an MA with the Institute of Education and Goldsmiths College exploring models of learning, in relation to fine art practice. Rousham has lived in Brixton for around 17 years, working as a teacher and an artist.



Ahmed and Carpenter
‘Orbit’ 2011, Moving image work: 2 minutes, 59 seconds

Ahmed and Carpenter’s practice is a continual investigation in their collective interest in the author, language and self-reflexive art. They often explore their creative relationship with film, photography and performance.

Orbit, is a moving image work that was originally filmed at Rogue Project Space. In this piece Ahmed and Carpenter circulate the gallery walls, testing not only their own bodily limitations but also the physical constraints of the space. Orbit references, the tradition of artists in their working environment , and how they interpret space.


Lucia Sceranková
‘Always 4:22’ 2008, video: 11 minutes, 14 seconds


The work is dealing with large housing estate Petržalka, where I used to live before.

Project was mapping of my present landscape. I collected various microstories, that had happened there. They have character of diary notes - in the form of text, photos and short videos. My ambition was to evoke the atmosphere of housing estate through behaviour of people. I created images of community-noncommunity. I have tried to research and reflect my present landscape and doing that I have discovered many final landscapes.

Lucia Scerankova graduated this year at Academy of Fine Art in Prague in studio of Vladimir Skrepl. She also studied at Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava (2004-2008). In 2007 she went for exchange at University of Newcastle upon Tyne, School of Arts and Cultures. She has been exhibiting since 2006. In 2011 besides other exhibitions she presented her work at Bienniall of Young Art Scooter in Slovakia, at group exhibition Mountain Lake in gallery Meetfactory in Prague and at solo exhibition Fire, water, wind knows in gallery A.M. 180 (Prague). In terms of non-exhibiting projects she designed cover of album Reading lyrics aloud means singing for Prague-based musician Ondrej Holý aka dné (2011). In 2009 she got the award Best videoart for video Always 4:22 at festival Early melons in Bratislava, Slovakia. These days she represents Academy of Fine Arts in Prague at international exhibition of best final works Start Point prize 2011 that takes place in Wanieck gallery in Brno, Czech republic.


Penny Skerrett
‘Gaze’ 2011: 8 minutes, 1 second

This film was inspired by a period of time I spent sitting in hospital waiting rooms. I was interested in the interplay between the intensely private experience of sitting with oneself and one’s thoughts and the fleeting moments of connection with another person that occur in shared spaces.

In constructing the film it became apparent that the camera, as a surrogate of the eye’s gaze, established a complex relationship with the participants. I became aware of the fluctuations of vulnerability and power between the participant and the viewer and of how the act of being observed affected their behaviour.

Penny is an artist whose practice has moved between the disciplines of performance art, furniture maker, lecturer, activist and curator. Her artwork, mainly films and drawing, is motivated by an interest in attention and onto what and where this is focused. The exchange between external environments and that of internal landscapes and an exploration of ‘belonging’ is something that is repeatedly explored through her work. Whilst studying on the Arts & Ecology MA at Dartington College of Arts she co-founded The Mobile Institute an interdisciplinary artists collective.

MULTIPLE OCCUPANCY, 19th-29th October 2011, Hatch Space

‘Occupants Will Vary’ by Jenny Steele
2011 Pencil, pen and letter transfer on paper 120 x 260 cm

‘Schematic: Hatch Space 2011’ by Harriet Hill
2011 Felt, wire, expanding foam, paint 240 x 125 cm


MULTIPLE OCCUPANCY is a 2 person exhibition by Harriet Hill and Jenny Steele that explores the in-habitation and use of space within the built environment of the Faircharm Trading Estate and the Hatch Space studios themselves. MULTIPLE OCCUPANCY aims to record, reflect and celebrate the current activity in these mixed-use spaces within this heterogeneous community.

Jenny Steele exhibits a map, ‘Occupants Will Vary’, 2011, that charts movement and spacial use within the micro community of the Faircharm Trading Estate. For the past month, she has spent time questioning and observing the organisations and individuals that occupy this multi-functional block of units. The map ‘Occupants Will Vary’, communicates data regarding use of physical and digital space compiled through an online questionnaire, presenting a sample of potential usage at any one time. The work is informed by social anthropologist Timothy Ingold's research that highlights the static nature of maps, that are unrepresentative of physical in-habitation and movement.

Steele's practice considers our constant in-habitation of digital space by playing on metaphors of physical space, cartography, architecture and town planning. Through her multi disciplinary practice, she continually seeks ways in which to come to terms with the intangibility of the digital, and its clash with our embedded cognitive behaviour and cartesian perspectives. Steele is currently based at Rogue Studios, Manchester, and is the Artist in Residence at Manchester Metropolitan University for 2011-12. Steele is a graduate of Goldsmiths MFA (2007).

Harriet Hill has created ‘Schematic: Hatch Space 2011’ as a response to the microcosm of Hatch Space Studios. The idea of the central space which acts as both a self contained gallery for public communication and an expanded corridor; an interstice with doors leading off into the autonomous artists’ studios beyond. The fixed nature of exhibits in a gallery contrasts with the life and activity in an artist’s studio and the shifting nature of the creative process. Both are spaces for thought and provocation. Hill takes this idea and the physical structure of the space and works viscerally, using materials specific to her practice. Out of this a piece evolves which is then drawn out into the space. This sets up a dynamic that seeks to question the fundamental relationship between the viewer, the object and the space that contains and defines them.

Through her practice, Hill explores ideas around the conflict between autonomy and belonging and the fact that we are drawn to that which is more powerful than ourselves – physical, social, political, theistic. This manifests in her work, through the notion that a physical entity – object, material, structure, space – can simultaneously incite both desire and repulsion. Hill is based in London, and is also a graduate of Goldsmiths MFA (2007).

MULTIPLE OCCUPANCY: 19th- 29th October 2011, Open Wed- Sun12-6pmOpen Day Event – Saturday 22nd October 2011, 12pm -6pm
South London Art Map Last Fridays – Friday 28th October 2011, 6-9pm

Rogue Open Studios, 9th October at Rogue, Manchester



Rogue Open Studios - 7th- 9th October 2011, Manchester



'Attempts to enter the Forbidden City (Model)', Cardboard, balsa wood, paint and pencil

'Occupants Will Vary', Pen and pencil drawing on paper. 120cm x 250cm.

Left to right: Interface (Home), 2011, Xiaonei Map, 2011 and Navigation Map, 2011, all drawings on paper.

Shots of my studio in the Rogue Open Studios earlier this month.  A great turnout, thanks to all at Rogue for co-ordinating the event.

Dear Friends,


or-bits.com is pleased to present TRUTH,

its new and fifth online programme.

Featuring works by:

ANGUS BRAITHWAITE / DAVID RAYMOND CONROY / ADELITA HUSNI-BEY

/ IOCOSE / M+M (Marc Weis and Martin De Mattia) / RICHARD SIDES

Plus forthcoming guest curated pages by:

GAIA TEDONE / CHRISTINE TAKENGNY & UTE PANNEDE

TRUTH programme will be accompanied by an ongoing series of blog contributions by:

Jennifer Steele (artist, researcher and lecturer) / Nathan Witt (artist) / and other bloggers joining along the way.

To find out more go to

http://www.or-bits.com

and our Blog.

- - -

or-bits.com is an online curatorial project, a platform for the production, display and distribution of commissioned artworks and critical writing. Its mission is to support the production of new works and instigate an exploration of the creative and critical possibilities of the web as language, medium and subject.

Multiple Occupancy at Hatch Space, runs from 19th -29th October 2011

Harriet Hill and Jenny Steele

19th- 29th October 2011, Open Wed- Sun12-6pm

Open Day Event – Saturday 22nd October 2011, 12pm -6pm

South London Art Map Last Fridays – Friday 28th October 2011, 6-9pm


'MULTIPLE OCCUPANCY' is a 2 person exhibition by Harriet Hill and Jenny Steele that explores the in-habitation and use of space within the built environment of the Faircharm Trading Estate and the Hatch Space studios themselves. MULTIPLE OCCUPANCY aims to record, reflect and celebrate the current activity in these mixed-use spaces within this heterogeneous community.

For MULTIPLE OCCUPANCY, Harriet Hill presents a sculptural work made as a response to the microcosm of Hatch Space studios. She works viscerally, with the particular, physical structure of the space and the idea of it as both a self contained gallery and an expanded corridor: a mutable interstice with doors leading off into the autonomous spaces of the artists studios.

Jenny Steele exhibits a map that charts movement and spacial use within the micro community of the Faircharm Trading Estate. For the past month, she has spent time questioning and observing the businesses, organisations and individuals that occupy this multi-functional block of units. The work is informed by social anthropologist Timothy Ingold's research that highlights the static nature of maps, that are unrepresentative of physical in-habitation.

For an Open Day event on Saturday 22nd October 2011, Hill and Steele have invited other artists to co-occupy the gallery space. Artists: Ahmed & Carpenter, Hannah Doyle, John Deller, Inigo Rousham, Lucia Serenkova, Penny Skerrett and Nicola Smith will show film and video works that explore themes of multiple occupancy from different perspectives. Frog Morris will perform poetry about the local community of Deptford, and Manchester based Matthew Bamber will bring a live streaming of his own studio to Hatch Space for the day.

Harriet Hill’s work investigates ideas around the conflict between autonomy and belonging and the fact that we are drawn to that which is more powerful than ourselves – physical, social, political. This manifests in her work, through the notion that a physical entity – material, object, structure, space – can simultaneously inspire both inclination and repulsion. Harriet Hill is based in London, and is a MFA graduate of Goldsmiths.

Jenny Steele's practice considers our constant in-habitation of digital space by playing on metaphors of physical space, cartography, architecture and town planning. Through her multi disciplinary practice, she continually seeks ways in which to come to terms with the intangibility of the digital, and its clash with our embedded cognitive behaviour and cartesian perspectives. Jenny Steele is currently based at Rogue Studios, Manchester, and is also a graduate of Goldsmiths MFA.

Closing Event and Artists Talk at CHRC, Goldsmiths, 4th October 2011

My current solo exhibition 'Redirection and Network Timeout' at the Constance Howard Research Centre, closes on the 6th October 2011.

You are invited to the closing event on Tuesday 4th October 2011, from 6-8pm, where I will be giving an informal Artist's Talk about my research and the work within the exhibition, from 7pm onwards.

If you would like to attend please RSVP to connitex@gold.ac.uk, by Monday 3rd October 2011.

Details of the CHRC:

Constance Howard Centre for Textiles Goldsmiths, University of London Deptford Town Hall Building (Basement) New Cross Road, London SE14 6AF Telephone: +44(0)20 7717 2210

For further information on the project, please visit the 'REDIRECTION and NETWORK TIMEOUT' a-n Artists Talking blog - http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/1266895.

Hope that you can make it!

Rogue Open Studios, 8-9th October 2011

I am very pleased to be taking part in the Rogue Open Studios on the 8th- 9th October 2011, with the Private View on October 7th, between 6-9pm.  Hope to see you there!

Axis Page

I have been updating my Axis Page, check it out !

MULTIPLE OCCUPANCY – Call for submissions (Film/video/animation/performance)

MULTIPLE OCCUPANCY – Call for submissions (Film/video/animation/performance)


MULTIPLE OCCUPANCY is an exhibition by artists Harriet Hill and Jenny Steele from the 19th October – 29th October 2011 at Hatch Space, London, that will present drawings, prints and sculpture that explore the micro-communities and spaces within Hatch Space Studios and Gallery, and the Faircharm Trading Estate itself.

We are inviting additional artists to occupy the exhibition space during an open day event on Saturday 22nd October 2011. We are currently seeking existing short film, animation works and performances that explore how space is occupied by multiple users, and the subsequent relationships, politics and connections that occur due to meeting at such an ‘interstice’.

Unfortunately, we cannot offer fees or expenses for inclusion in the event.

If you have a film, animation or performance which you would like to submit for consideration, please email the following information to Jenny Steele on jcsteele@hotmail.com by 5pm on Wednesday 14th September:

- A brief CV

- For animation and film works, please email a link or attach a low res file of the work.

- For performance work, please email a description or any visual evidence of the work if it has been performed previously.

We will inform those who submit of the outcome by Saturday 17th September 2011.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Less is less and more is more...?

There are several conflicting maxims in life, that I often consider, when reflecting on the levels of effort, time and quantity in relation to the success of an art practice.  With regards to presentation and content, we are often  told - 'Less is More'.  To achieve development through production - 'Practice makes Perfect'.  And the ultimate, undoubtable, recipe for achievement; which was embedded in my psyche by a sign above my school teachers door, which promised and preached that  - 'Success is 10 per cent inspiration, and 90 per cent perspiration'.

I went to see a solo show at the end of July 2011, 'Bower' by Jason Kerley at the Toilet Gallery in Kingston Upon Thames, which made me question notions of effort and quantity when presenting work. 

The Toilet Gallery is a disused public space, that has exhibited small shows since 2006, and the programme is currently curated by Tristan Rogers, Kate Renwick and Adam Lewis-Jacob.Jason Kerley, a multidisciplinary artist and illustrator, presented/ curated an installation of objects, artworks and ephemera around the small space, with a sound installation in the back gallery space that emitted an overwhelming drone.  Kerley presented all the objects that we hold onto in our various drawers, boxes and bags; pieces of paper and tickets that we like for a whimsical reason and then have difficulty letting go of. The objects were held together by drawing and painting, careful placement within a three dimensional collage.  The result was a collection of imagery and kind of wonderkammer that is both intriguing and suffocating.  The everyday throwaway nature of the objects drew in viewers closer to read the text, so that we engage longer with the work.  The collections of objects around the space sometimes seemed to be driven by colour co-ordination or some other kind of personal grouping.  'Artwork' within frames was hung without cohesion.

'Bower', Toilet Gallery, July 2011

'Bower', Toilet Gallery, July 2011

The sense that the objects are cluttering ephemera, is ignited again by the artists post exhibition practice of mailing parts of the exhibition to visitors, if they hand write their address upon one of the assorted envelopes at the back of the space.  Through this process, the items can be released with a new sense of purpose or recylced identity.

I discussed the presentation of the work with the artist.  Kerley said, "Usually I work in post-minimalist, gestural style sculpture.  I came to do the installation, with a whole load of objects, and just kept on going".  It seems that Kerley kept on going, giving MORE time, MORE effort and MORE in the presentation.  Quite adverse to the post minimalist philosophy of considered and minimised visuals and forms, within which he usually works (http://www.jasonkerley.co.uk/), Kerley's previous work is disguised through the maxim of 'less is more' through gestural and minimalist sculpture. 

'Bower', Toilet Gallery, July 2011

'Bower', Toilet Gallery, July 2011

I am left pondering several questions -

How did Kerley find himself following another maxim for his presentation, that emphasised continued, sustained effort, and quantity?

Did this approach benefit his practice and the finish of the work?

Will he continue working in this chaotic, layered, expressive style?

Do we focus more when there is less physical work, or do more objects create more opportunity for response and interpretation?

I can emphasise with these conundrums.  So much of my practice, decision making, when creating my own work, is hung on delicate decision making. Do I include that piece of work in the show? Does it lower the bar of the other works? When do I finish this drawing? When do I stop working on this proposal? When is enough work and effort to ensure success?....

These maxims guide me, but sometimes, it is difficult to know when to trust your judgement, and more often than note there are no guidelines.

Installing the exhibition at CHRC....

I am currently in the process of installing my solo show at the Constance Howard Research Centre at Goldsmiths College, London.  You can read more about this on my artists talking blog, here - http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/1266895.

Please read below the press release for the exhibition which opens on the 6th September 2011 and runs until the 6th October 2011.

---------------------------

'REDIRECTION and NETWORK TIMEOUT' is a solo exhibition by Jenny Steele at the Constance Howard Centre, Goldsmiths, from the 6th September until 6th October 2011. Jenny Steele will showcase works from her recent research residency at the 501 Artspace, Chongqing, China, for the first time to a UK audience. Steele's project at 501 Artspace (1st June- 12th July 2011) researched into how locals navigate physical and digital space, particularly exploring issues of governmental censorship and control. She also investigated how ancient Ming Dynasty walled city layouts reflected the current hierarchical control imposed online by the government of the People’s Republic of China, continuing to control inhabitant’s movements in both digital and physical space.




Within the PRC, Western social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, YouTube and Posterous are banned, as well as numerous sites that are deemed with content that is sexual, provocative or challenging the PRC government. When a user tries to access these sites, they are redirected to a previous page, or a screen flashes up that tells the ‘netizen’ that the network has 'timed out'. Subsequently, Chinese users are kept separate from a large majority of the supposedly libertarian internet, and they have set up their own versions of social networking sites for Fanfou (Twitter), Renren (Facebook) and QQ (Twitter, Facebook and MSN hybrid). The aforementioned networks are also governed by PRC officials, removing posts and users that are inappropriate. This process of 'redirection and network timeout' divides PRC online users, from all other international users, reflecting the countries historical approach to town planning that controls movement. Through drawing, wood block printmaking, and site specific installations in Chongqing, Jenny Steele sought to map out and chart movements, and redirection, in physical and digital space, by referencing digital interfaces, historical architecture and town planning.



For this exhibition at the CHRC, Jenny Steele presents drawings and woodblock prints, also displaying photographs of site-specific installations, and an architectural model of her installation, 'Attempts to enter the Forbidden City'. The project 'REDIRECTION and NETWORK TIMEOUT', at 501 Artspace, Chongqing, was organised in association with the Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester, and funded by Grants for the Arts, Arts Council England.



Jenny Steele is an artist, researcher, lecturer, and Goldsmiths alumni (MFA Textiles 2007). She has exhibited widely in the UK, as well as within China, Japan and USA. Upcoming events include a presentation at RE-WIRE Conference at FACT, Liverpool (28th Sept 2011), and MULTIPLE OCCUPANCY, a 3-person exhibition at Hatch Space, London (19th- 29th October 2011). Jenny Steele is currently based at Rogue Studios, Manchester.



‘REDIRECTION and NETWORK TIMEOUT’ opens at the Constance Howard Research Centre on the 6th September 2011 and runs until the 6th October 2011.



Please note, the centre is only open Tuesdays and Thursdays only, from 10.00am- 4.30pm.



Constance Howard Centre for Textiles

Goldsmiths, University of London

Deptford Town Hall Building (Basement)

New Cross Road, London

SE14 6AF

Telephone: +44(0)20 7717 2210


For further information on the project, please visit the 'REDIRECTION and NETWORK TIMEOUT' a-n Artists Talking blog - www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/1266895.


For press enquiries, and any other queries, please contact - jennysteelelondon@gmail.com.


http://www.jennysteele.co.uk/

Website updated -phew....

I have re-jigged my website with new work from China, so check it out when you get a chance.... http://www.jennysteele.co.uk/.  Have a great weekend...

Xiaonei Map, woodblock print on paper, 2010

INTERFACE 2011, UCL Lightning Paper Presentation (28th July 2011)

Lightning Paper 'Redirection and Network Timeout', INTERFACE Conference at UCL, 2011

View more presentations from jennysteele.

Camden Arts Centre - Artists Practice Day (23rd July 2011), Redirection and Network Timeout Residency Presentation

'Redirection and Network Timeout' Residency Artists Talk at Camden Arts Centre, 23rd July 2011

View more presentations from jennysteele.

Camden Arts Centre - Artists Practice Day Presentation (23rd July 2011) Presentation 1

Presentation for Camden Arts Centre - Disseminating Your Practice

View more presentations from jennysteele

Presentations and apologies...

If you are trying to update my website, please accept my apologies, as I am currently in the process of updating information and work from China.  More recent work are also in the Drawing and Prints and Installations pages on this blog.

My latest post on my a-n 'Redirection and Network Timeout' blog covers my presentations I have given this week on my project.  It starts like this:


I have blogger's guilt from not posting for quite a few days. I have been down in London now since Friday evening, for various events and freelance work.


Last Saturday, I gave a talk at Camden Arts Centre as part of the Artists Practice Day, about how I attempt to disseminate my practice, and my recent residency in China. The talk went very well, and we ended up focusing...........
 
To read this post please go to http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/1266895.
 

Speed Networking event at INTERFACE conference, UCL,

Map of campus at UCL, London

Entrance building at UCL.

New life up north...

The past few days have been filled with preparing presentations for the talks I will be giving next week, looking at flats, looking at studios and following up job leads.


The lightning paper at the INTERFACE conference is very short, so I have put together a short narrative, trying to use my drawings as illustrations to the ideas I am very quickly talking about. I have also been following up the reference that Chris Connery, the signologist I met in China, told me about - the theorist Geert Lovink. I have been reading his PhD paper which he has made available online-some very interesting ideas relating to the politics and the hierarchy of the physical city reflecting the supposed utopian libertarian space of the international internet.

I am also preparing my presentation for the Artists Practice Day at the Camden Arts Centre. The presentation is about how you document and disseminate your practice. I am trying not to make the visuals too much like a lecture, with text, bullet points (or as people say power pointless!)but I think it comes down to feeling my words feeling supported by visuals,thinking visually, and also if someone does not wholly get what your saying, they may get what they are seeing. I have also found some excellent chart making tools in power point. I would like to try and use these in my artwork.

It has been interesting thinking about how I do document and disseminate my practice - and how I can develop these approaches. Most of my dissemination is by the internet, social networking, but my physical face to face dissemination feels a lot more limited to an existing group of people, that does grow but not very quickly.
I decided this afternoon to take a studio at Rouge Studios in Manchester. It is cheap and a big space, and we will hopefully get a flat city centre near Piccadilly so the location is good. It seems like a very occupied block, with some interesting artists, and a few people I have met before are there so it is an exciting step. I am pleased also that I got past the selection committee! I need the space for upcoming exhibitions.

Next steps is a home and more paid work!

Images from the installation 'Attempts to enter the Forbidden City', 501 Other Space, Chongqing, China

World's been turning..

As ever, while I have been away, the world has been turning.  Here are some films of the 1st year Architecture/Art students at the Bartlett, which my friend Lucy Leonard teaches on.  Some interesting and ambitious projects and outcomes..

Home again, home again...

I hope that while I have been away in China that you have managed to follow my blog 'Redirection and Network Timeout', which I am very proud to say was 'a-n's most visited blog for June 2011, who would of thought it! To catch up on my past six weeks in the middle kingdom, please click here.  As mentioned in the previous post, I couldn't access Blogger in China, as it is one of the sites banned by the PRC.

I have had an excellent time in China by all accounts.  YanYan, the director of the 501 Artspace, and all his assistants and friends have been so hospitable and friendly, I feel as if I have made some lovely friends, and hope to return to Chongqing some day.  My project went well, and there were several unexpected outcomes on top of those I had planned in my proposal that I managed to achieve.

The residency culminated with an exhibition, 'Redirection and Network Timeout' at the '501 Other Space' (my studio), a very well attended opening, and a talk given by myself.  The exhibition ran for 10 days whilst I travelled to Chengdu and Xian, undertaking some sightseeing and some more research into historic architecture and town planning in Xian.

I was very sorry to leave Chongqing, but my experiences and work will inform much of my activities for the next few months in a series of talks and presentations and show at the CHRC, Goldsmiths College.  I will also be creating a new map work for a group show at Hatch Space, London in October 2011, with artists Hannah Westwood and Harriet Hill.

Below are some images from the PV in Chongqing, as well as the poster for the exhibition, I will be posting better shots of the works soon so keep your eye out.

With greatest thanks again to Grants for the Arts, Arts Council England and the Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester for making this residency possible.

'Redirection and Network Timeout' exhibition poster

Giving a talk with translation from YanYan and JennBe

Visitors to the PV.

Series of wood block prints on the wall.

One of the 102 Art Loft artists with the installation.

'Attempts to enter the Forbidden City', Paint, KT board, pen on wall, June 2011

'Old habits die hard', Pen and pencil on paper, June 2011