somestufftogetinvolvedwith

looking through more images from Lisbon - love these -

meanwhile just read the latest book by/from Goldie - a totally mad (wonderfully box of frogs mad) with each sentence on every page spinning off into numerous fractured multiple looping tales, evening scores and developing the myth - a boisterous take no prisoners read. Latest podcast’s the dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds- two guys chatting - the premise being that one person doesn’t know the subject- they have a great 'bloke' rapport and are very funny. Start with episodes 310a and 301b and also get to be horrified (even more so) by Trumps history. Whatever you think of him Russell Brand's Under the skin is a very intelligent listen, start with Billy Brag. The Boring Talks takes off-beat subjects and drills down to explore it. some films - if you like your family saga  films messed up watch The Meyerowitz Stories  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5536736/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt if you like your coming of age, sexual awakening films all lingering in European heat Call me by your name is for you http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5726616/​ and if you desire your relationships fractured and lost but trying Lady Bird is for you http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4925292/?ref_=nv_sr_1

and finally the debut EP from Clerk 37 has some deeply haunting intelligent sounds https://soundcloud.com/8-mana/sets/clerk-37-or-u-waited-mana003-1 check it out now.

lisbonmagicandvision

 4 days in Lisbon- what to say - looking at endless tiled spaces has renewed my love of repeat pattern. I became particularly interested when one pattern juts up against another- this will be the starting point for the next body of work. 

Religious imagery was a large part of the break and was very powerful and particularly gruesome both in its depiction of cruelty and excessive materiality of the trappings involved with being the conduit of faith. Some of the best 'capes' ever - again something to return to re science/art capes. The collection of reliquary in the Igreja de Sao Roque  is one of the most comprehensive - I have never seen  part of the crib before. 

There are so many elements to the trip, more will come out later but for now - some great art - the Gulbenkian in Lisbon is always a favourite of mine - it reminds me of inside spaces within the Barbican. The collection is housed within 2 'old school modernist' buildings using tasteful materials set within glorious grounds. The walk taken from Lisbon’s centre takes you past monumental landscaping with its own seemingly monolithic monuments. The new contemporary art space MAAT with its swooping roof had two shows - digital highway last seem badly hung at the Whitechapel - here the hang gave the work space and a clearer reading. https://www.maat.pt/en Tension and Conflict Video Art after 2008 was an excellent and internationally broad show of video work and had some exceptional work. I have become interested in a concept introduced to me by Barbara Klare, that of artist as first responder and this lemon tastes of apple by Hiwa K is a particular version of this, after 2 months of protests in Kurdish area of Iran the video documents a single simple act that evolves and takes on numerous roles within the video. https://vimeo.com/52581227

And then there is the food - I ate some of the tastiest, creative food ever - grilled octopus that was set on fire and lamb couscous with spearmint sorbet were just two notable dishes - recommendations - Casa dos Pecados, Carmo and Oficina do Duque. 

workshopsandrecognition

excellent day at Camberwell running two workshops one that attempts to explore the impossible - the idea of creating an equation for finishedness in a piece of work and another that looked at the relationship we have as makers of objects with audiences through those very objects. Here are links to the presentations on Slideshare. https://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/13-02-18-context-audience-understanding-2018 https://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/13-02-18-finishedness-2018 It's a full on day with equations and diagrams created, negotiated  and shared. This has been developed through the work on the OCA and at the Maxwell Centre in Cambridge through the collaborations and workshops I ran with nano-technologists. The January edition of CavMag is out and the work I was involved in during my residency is featured. Really cool that I get to be in the same pages of incredibly intelligent, driven people who are working on important issues. 

White Cube in Bermondsey has a somewhat amateur looking collection of works on display (maybe that was the point) - but it was a little like what you might do if you had your first stab at a show on a foundation course if you wanted to 'do' installation - Eddie Peake and display 'meaningful objects' - He Xiangyu. The saving grace was that the dj was playing good 'old skool' jungle and there was an extraordinary Gursky on display - looking forward to seeing the show at The Hayward. 

workonthebraincontinues

work on the brain continues - this 3D print is the negative space within the head - the folds. interesting to take it apart and to see how the making relates to the function.

meanwhile everybody in the art world will know somebody within The Meyerowitz Stories http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5536736/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

spaceofabasketbook

After an interesting week at NUA where rooms of nervous individuals wielding black folders were to be found talking about possible futures - (yes interviews are underway) the work at Kings on synthetic anatomy continues.....meanwhile ..... today was another great day at Kings - consisting of numerous elements which including getting to grips with new software and the physical process of 3D printing. Pushing a material till it fails is always interesting and making a piece that explored the space of a book was the first of today's questioning of systems and a way of investigating materials. The next print will be of a brain that will explore the interconnectedness within it and create support structures that look like basketwork - maybe 3D printing is a textile activity and our department at Norwich should have one. Shelley James and Andrew Carnie ran a very professional workshop that looked at measuring, mapping and communicating. Making  great connections with my own and Celia's previous workshops. I loved the rules and general set up. It enabled the students to find their inner storytelling skills. Feedback and sharing at the end of the session seems very normal activity within a art education situation and an experience that is familiar but its excellent to watch students unfamiliar with this truly engage with the process and be genuinely interested in each others work.

Woody Harrelson does a great job in LBJ but maybe you have to be American to actually care http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4778988/?ref_=nv_sr_1 Phantom Thread is just so beautiful it melts your eyes and the acerbic tone of the actors is just chillingly brilliant when in dialogue with each other. "The tea may be gone but the interruption is still here" is one of my favourite http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5776858/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 and then there is Justice League - a bit like a CGI infused A team.

brainpowermakingbrains

I checked out the latest show at Annka Kultys Gallery which is by Bob Bicknell-Knight and all about how the internet is both presenting, mirroring and simultaneously driving us all to hell. Meanwhile the steep learning curve that is 3D printing is going well. I managed to print a brain with the two colour printer where the foundation struts are a different colour. The imagery within the program is probably more interesting that the actual objects, although there is an abstract magic around making real the virtual which I am sure I will never fail to be amused/amazed by. In the drawing workshop I redrew and then printed a 3D version using the medical scanning software of a blind-left-hand-15-second-drawing (yes the drawing workshop was a wonderful 'oldskool' art school session). Which was odd and infused with possibilities.

So this happened - on Saturday night I found myself walking away from an art auction for Bank arts in Eye with an Abigail Lane print! Meanwhile wonder http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543472/ is truly beautiful and heart wrenchingly, obvious and a well worn journey but still quite lovely.  

drawdrawdrawandyouwillsee

Fridays are all about Synthetic Anatomy, although learning and working with new software to be able to create 3D pieces has been my obsession this week in between the gaps of general teaching, running a smocking and pleating workshop for BA students, a folding workshop for MA students, interviewing prospective students for Textile Design BA, briefing the last unit for the current year 3 on the Textile Course at Norwich, tutorials for year 2 OCA Fine Art students, seeing The Comforter by the wonderful (you will laugh you will cry) Stacy Makishi https://www.artsadmin.co.uk/artists/stacy-makishi at the glorious Norwich Arts Centre which was really fantastic and then finally tweaking designs for planning committee for the Goldlay Square commission.

This Friday at Kings the afternoon session was run by Celia Pym.  http://celiapym.com/  Life drawing. If you ever need a drawing workshop I cannot recommend her more highly. The level of serious fun and energy in the room (for 2 hours) was awesome. The medical students went from 'this is a laugh', which it was, to taking the whole thing very seriously as they became focused and realised that drawing is not so easy and needs practice and a way of thinking to develop your skills. The drawing techniques and rules that engaged in by the students were so relevant to thinking about anatomy and 3D printing.