lotsgoingon

Organised a fashion shoot at Norwich University of the Arts with Andy. https://www.instagram.com/andisapey/ It was great fun recreating well known and iconic poses from paintings, sculpture and popular culture, all whilst wearing vast amounts of PPE. Sweating like a pig as my mum would have said. A new tattoo as part of my residency at SZC – working with @jim_skins we created a collaborative drawing that was developed and became part of my body. Good photos to follow, the starting point for the work was the idea of energy, the atom and electrons. There are two tattoos that work together but are separate. onto screens – Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F – we knew what would happen down to dialogue, scenes and ending, wonderful nonsense even down to the ridiculous ‘car’ chases. Adolescence – oh dear I need a drink, truly extraordinary.

workonatforSZCcontinues

 

work on/at/for SZC continues – Started to sew into the large-scale connection prints, really pleased with them, they are looking exactly as I wanted them or maybe even better! Archaeology pieces are coming along, I’ve solved the future archaeology idea – going to recreate a time team trait – the small piece of material that is extrapolated into a large complex thing. Thinking about SZC as an extension, an idea that relates to planning laws but also thoughts around electricity consumption. onto screens – the Replacements underdogs get to win. Mickey 17 holds up a mirror to some of our current concerns. The Gorge – a relationship is built over a ravine with duplicitous shooting. Formular 1 Drive to survive season 7 – more over the top bloated reasons why we are all going to environmental hell alongside some excellent racing. Waynes World – a rewatch and yes, it is even funnier than you thought the first time around, with some dodginess.

moreandmoreSZC

Another great sauna on the beach at Dunwich for a birthday with another in a couple of weeks. Work on the Sizewell residency continues – I’ve decided that a way to navigate the immense project that is SZC with all its huge independent but linked departments is to become several artists that have different interests and approaches to making art. It has delivered an immense freedom to be able to do anything. Two visits to the public facing version SZC. The Archaeology display was full of interesting objects with some insightful commentary An evening at a community film event was lovely with the children in the films delivering a clear steer on what was needed. The first session at Alde Valley Academy went okay – introduced them to an alternative way of thinking. The work itself keeps coming. Woke up at 5.00 today – by 5.30 I was working on the communication pieces, creating couples, the idea of duality seems important, sort of oppositional I have found myself making moulds and using all sorts of materials to cast the voids. Onto films – Nickel Boys – really powerful cinema, filmed in a way that you feel implicated, although it was a little like reading an essay with great footnotes. The Brutalist – challenging, in all sorts of ways. Flight Risk – I wonder what will happen. Kneecap – AWESOME. Lockerbie – it’s a tough but insightful watch, with superb effects of a plane falling out of the sky! Brian and Maggie, lived it but a great illustration of what happened. Gave up on Squid Games – there were no surprises left. 

diggingthepastnow

What a busy 2 weeks - both pretty full on - a meeting in Hull with Feral Art School about potential possibilities, an evening meeting about Sizewell C to listen to information about the Northern transport situation, 2 days of teaching and a day at Kings - a great synthetic anatomy session about genetics. The trial session around table displays was really successful. It's where we run a workshop in which the whole course is played out from initial ideas and research into iterative making, leading to final displays and along the way touching on group work and narrative story telling. Work for Sizewell C goes well - the future archaeology is working, and the 3D prints look good. This was informed by a superb day finally on site at SZC with the Cotswold archaeology team. They were so generous with their time and knowledge. I'm rethinking my approach to the work I was planning around archaeology - time space layers narrative - the way in which the process of archaeology is documented, and I got to touch very old stuff - most excellent. The week went from amazing to awesome - got invited to create work for the battery of ideas - I get to make a huge hanging thread work that will explore the relationship between my tattoos and images of nuclear atomic existence - really can't wait. This week’s session at kings was interrupted by a group of 10 year olds. Rather that asking what was happening and getting them to leave I got on the mic, stopped the session and organised that the table groups of students explained their projects. This was awesome as incredibly obscure and complex ideas were explained. They had to think about the language they were using for different audiences. There were some totally natural communicators in the room, such a wonderful experience, especially as the small children questioned the projects in ways the science students hadn't anticipated, in some cases a total rethink - beautiful. Went to CCA the show was of work from the 80s, it did feel a little like it, popped into the art station in Saxmudham - really interesting show of paintings, Scenes From A Place Called World, by Rebecca Riess.  

coldadventures

Another amazing day at Kings College working with the great team that is synthetic anatomy. The groups are beginning to gell, the session on team building connected to today's workshop, which included SWOT analysis on the senses combined with animals (what do we mean by useful?) and developing communication skills with 'bag anatomy'. A swift visit to the Science Gallery and off to Stansted to catch a plane to Tallinn. A glorious couple of days in Tallinn - so so cold but  public transport is so connected and easy, making  movement through the city a joy. From one eating spot to another with galleries and museums in-between. Add warehouses full of second hand stuff, areas viing for high rise dystopian post USSR award, walks along the Baltic, going to the top of the Tallinn TV tower and beating eachother with eucalyptus branches in a Russian sauna meant that it all felt easy, especially as the fare was cheap or free if you are a resident. We ate fabulous food, Especially loved the Georgian Food at The Kurz (chuttu and kartulige) the fusion food at SALT, pizza at the 50th top pizza restaurant in Europe, herring in blackcurrant for breakfast and the pastries are to die for almost everywhere, actually everywhere. Estonian Kringel is a must. In terms of galleries and museums The Kumu is a glorious modern space with a superb collection, it was interesting to think about how artists have been sharing information and talking with each other in an underground 'soft power' way for years, evidenced by the creation of similar work to European artists and movements. To not value this and in fact for Brexiteers and rightwing nationists around the world to remove the support and block creative discussions is just dumb but artists will find ways to collaborate, share and grow together, this is why creativity frightens the small, insular minded. Meanwhile - I don't know if it was translation but the texts in the shows were poetic in nature, especially the titles - Symptoms of change - They began to talk - The future is in one hour - Museum of Obsessions - When wicked resides without -Alarming are the bells that echo in the landscape - The forgotten tablecloth: the spell of crumpled materials -The dance of small steps - Object to be destroyed - Elementary forms and the Anatomy of Feelings. We will return.

creativescience

after a busy week I had a wonderful day at Kings, it was team building day on synthetic anatomy utilizing Edward de Bono’s 6 thinking hats. The session was a great success with the spirit of the teams well and truly built. Weird, I ran a similar session at Norwich which went down particularly badly – maybe the conclusion could be that science students are more able to think laterally than fashion students! A private view at the bookartbookshop was excellent, as ever Tanya was a fantastic host and the work by Susan Johanknecht @gefn20 and Katharine Meynell @meynellkatharine was great and the cocktails were truly powerful. Work continues on the SZC residency with meetings about community engagement and new work just pouring out. The ring is part of an ongoing idea around archaeology in the year 3000. Really enjoying the new Charlie XCX featuring Billie Eilish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huGd4efgdPA Onto films – The substance – wow – lesson learnt – live with yourself. Napoleon – just a little bit slow to sustain interest.

anamazingdayatkings

An amazing day at Kings College working with the great team that is synthetic anatomy. I think we ran the best workshop so far ever. This led us to ask what are the factors in play in the large general classroom. The lighting has changed and the ceiling has been lowered by a good foot easily. So the question is did the lowering of the ceiling and the change of lighting in the room make the students more focused and creative or did the students bring a more focused approach to the room? Or are we just getting better through experience, both of the actual work and of each other - there is almost a sense of mind-reading happening. As ever transplanting art school - or should I say creative lateral thinking and problem solving into a science context throws up many clashing moments but the friction that is created is the starting point to new understanding. I love it when the workshop participants move from the very practical moving their thinking to start to think philosophically via aesthetics and reflective questioning of the very nature of the set work. Onto SZC - a few books that have informed the work I’ve been doing around diagrams and ways of presenting content in diagrammatic formats. Onto films – Gladiator 2 – great costumes and sets. Breathe in – middle-aged men angst, a man boychild trying to relive their youth! We Live in Time – OMG, if you are looking for a laugh do not go here!