Thursday 12 April 2012

"Ready Retrospective", 2012


For the past week I have been building a room within a disused empty shop. "Ready Retrospective" is a collection of found and or given objects that have also previous been used within other work in my portfolio to date- hence a retrospective and hence 'ready' as a playful commentary on the readymade.

Below you will see some images that show the room part finished. Other inclusions are to be the chair which featured in the cololborative photography series "As given or used", with photographer Denise Swanson FBIPP.

As an artist I like to install work in a way that is responsive to space. On this occasion I have physically built the space. This means that the process has been that of both builder and that of an artist- physically constructing in the traditional stud wall and primer type fashion, whilst then selecting key tones and colours to install an interesting art aesthetic.

The notion of the 'home' or something that is 'homely' appeals to me, whilst simultaneously taking the 'home' out of context and formally displaying it explores perhaps a darker undertone of abandonement. My work often balances between nostalgic and discarded. Im not sure which comment I side with as the nostalgia or potential stories the object may have before falling into my hands is of great curiosity, whereas I am also met with frustration as to our throw away culture.

I am pleasantly surprised with how the refection of the object in the windows are starting to affect the landscape and indirectly explore scale and juxtaposition.



I feel "Ready Retrospective" will be an installation that explores these polars whilst also showcasing a static environment in such a way as to suggest a staged performance. This is intended through the inclusion of a half open doorway- suggesting either the potential for a performance about to happen or just missed by the viewer. An interesting parody as the objects fates are of a similar commodity- discarded but found with potential to be more, or less, something, or nothing.

http://blackpoolcultureshops.wordpress.com/

Sunday 5 February 2012

"Clean Modern Flat"- jigsaw cut, acrylic, varnich, mirror

"Clean Modern Flat"

"Clean Modern Flat"

"Clean Modern Flat"

This 8 foot jigsaw cut is a miniature reinterpretation of a previous installation piece at The Harris Museum & Art Gallery. "The simplicities of my complexities" was a 30 foot tall stack of reclaimed lampshades set on a side table.
The 2 Dimensional sculpture is a development exploring past works in a new light. A cleaner simplified aesthetic, almost like a doodle, is something I feel my work is leaning towards lately. As a means to both document but reinvent at the same time.

"Simplicities of my complexities"- reclaimed lampshade stack

"if you happened to be outside my window and on a ladder"- video installation

"if you happened to be outside my window and on a ladder"- video instalaltion

"if you happened to be outside my window and on a ladder"- video installation

"if you happened to be outside my window and on a ladder"

".... outside my window" was a reworked video piece installed behind my living room curtains, at an angle equalling that of the view of my television through my living room window.
I wanted an audience to witness my living space as real life spectators and as if they were literally prying eyes upon my life.
The video however is a nonsensical happening which occurred within my home- filmed with performer and filmmaker Mark Oughton a.k.a Burntworld.
A nonsensical everyday encounter was a deliberate reassurance that nothing is really ever honest in its presentation. There is always an element of staged reality.
The video was shot in real time with influences from Bertolt Brecht and also Mike Kelley and Cindy Sherman.
Duration: 18 Minutes.
"See ego OR home"- framed english dictionaries, bannister legs, lenses & "Mi Ohm"- aerial cord

"see ego OR home"- english dictionaries, bannister legs, lenses

"see ego OR home"- english dictionaries, bannister legs, lenses

This minimalist wall display as part of the "I AM gARTh" show was intended as a point of contemplation of the whole. My works rarely stand alone as they are woven or hold threads that can relate to one another in a space.
The framed dictionaries was to explore the relationship between the artist and the work in which they create. Simultaneous pages open at 'ego' and 'home' open discourse into the persona. Also enquiries into character and interpretation were brought into the exhibition as a whole through this simply propped sculpture.
"mi Ohm" is a piece that purely links one work to another. It feeds from outside the gallery window into a video installation housed within the "I AM gARTh" exhibition. Linking outdoor and indoor as my house has been temporarily moved into anew home.
"Table for two"- reclaimed table, candlesticks, framed dust captures



"table for two"- reclaimed table, coandlesticks, framed dust captures

"table for two"- reclaimed table, candlesticks, framed dust captures

This piece made use of a table found in the residency space. The framed works are of two table settings that have been created using dust on carpet taken from personal living space. The frames were then staged as a contemporary archive of a previous encounter or scenario.
I wanted a notion of monumentalism within this piece as it documents space whilst at the same time memorialising it. The traditional expectation of monumentalism is altered due mainly to the small scale of the work, however it is a monument as it imitates or supplements its origins.
"PropperTea"- Lancashire Tea, wood, varnish, acrylic, text

"I AM gARTh" details

"PropperTea"- Lancashire Tea, wood, varnish, acrylic, text

"PropperTea" close up.

Teabags donated by Lancashire Tea to develop this floor based installation, as a early study for future larger scale work. The scenario was staged to resemble a Monopoly card and hotel.
The piece was a result of personal working environments as a consultant- invloving travelling and staying in hotels across the UK, whislt also considering new works that are influenced by the home. This brings a marriage between personal and professional ongoings.
The tangerine Monopoly tone is to reference my home town of Blackpool, Lancashire, UK.
The form of a house or 'hotel' being positioned amongst a larger showing of work was to establish the space as a direct influence from living spaces as they are cited in a new context.

"I AM gARTh"- solo exhibition and residency, 2011

"First Floor Flat with a view of Blackpool Tower", 2011
"as given or used"- found and personal memorabilia, photographic stills, 2011
"as given or used"- photographic stills and reclaimed lenses 2011

"as given or used"- detail 2011

"as given or used"- detail, 2011