morebreathingin

I think the assembly at Stowuplands school was a success – introducing the students to a range of ideas, the work of artists and the very idea of art as a career – we shall see who wants to be part of the project. https://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/assembly-revisedpptx A Day of breathing in - first up Gagosian - with Hirst playing with dead animals and then having fun with dioramas but maybe a little lost. The Science Museum - to check out mathematic models but the space has been sanitized and they have been sadly removed in favour of a cafe! The Serpentine gallery - has a VR experience by Dominique Gonzalez -Foerster and Aliens which was ok. Larry Bell at Hauser and Wirth had a sense of futuristic set design about it but the work was lost as the details were missed – cutting glass on angles is obviously a challenge. Frith Street gallery has some interesting yet slightly disturbing ceramic and glass heads by Thomas Schutte. Jeff Wall's hauntingly disturbing photos are at White Cube, Mason's Yard. The small works by Ettore Spalletti at Marian Goodman were just so beautiful, the book structures giving up nothing but timelessness. I loved the powder blue installation that was created by him at their old space, especially the inclusion of the white pencil. Somerset House had a community project and that along with the Radio Ballads, the work in The North space of The Serpentine Gallery were instructive, providing a way to move forward with a project I'm working on - not quite a solution more of a direction. Bond Street was as ever a space of otherness – the Louis Vuitton shop had an amazing window display – the kinetic sculptures by William Darrell were truly amazing. Onto screens - Chaos Walking has an interesting premise the visualisation of which is cleverly impressive. Welcome to Eden takes a while to get to its point.  

theweekendstartsthere

A great weekend - the photos prove it! - Friday was a great night out watching Alexander Costello from 303 gallery in Lowestoft fight his way out of a 'paper bag' - actually several giant rolls of paper at the artstation in Saxmundham was most excellent. The structural forms created alongside the sound was memorable. It must be that time of year – I’ve received several requests to digitize and make public some works I have in collections – this is great news, the opportunity for organisations to make work available to a wider public is always the right move and gives a warm feeling all over. I like the idea of the DNA of all the readers/viewers embedded within the materiality of the books. Their memories layered 'palimpsest like' within the works. Meanwhile I'm slowly grasping concepts around receptor pharmacology and thinking of ways to communicate these ideas through the construction of articulated cardboard structures. Quite a task - 2 hours in the V&A just emptying my head whilst breathing in has started the process. Can't wait to get in the studio and start forming.  Onto screens - Everything Everywhere All at Once – truly amazingly mind blowing. The Getaway King - fun romp with some excellent 'slow motion set tableaux scene's', Nine days - an interesting premise, just this side of kooky. Silverton Siege - a solid film based on actual events. 

startingpoints

Started two new projects. 1 - Working with Jubilant! on a project for Milton Meadow with Stowupland High School and Red Gables to re-imagine a space within the school grounds. It’s exciting to be in on something from the beginning, speaking at an assembly to lay the groundwork and determine who will be involved is going to be a blast. 2 - Receptor pharmacology at Kings, creating teaching models that explore the phenomena is going to be a ride. Problem solving and lateral thinking using material understanding. It’s what we do. My voice is to be in the British Library sound archive - in the dim and distant past I worked on an MA at Camberwell College of the Arts called Book Art. Early in the course structure we initiated a symposium, that was subsequently adopted into the MA pathway - anyway an iteration of this was apparently recorded and now resides in their archives, along with a presentation I gave. So, if you ever get the inclination to hear over 14 hours of voices from another time, talking on a course that no longer exists you know where to go! onto screens - Windfall - a dark and twisted film played out by fractured characters. Time to Hunt - gangster light revenge tale. A woefully boring experience but with good acting, played for laughs - on how did that happen? Operation Mincemeat – odd stiff upper lip romp. Uncharted – 'twisty-turney' romp. Ozark season 4 complete – just so dark

frenchnesssquared

A break in S France - Marseille was as ever wonderful - checked out the 3 main art spaces on Friday with soup d Poisson at my favorite place down by the docks in between. The Musem is such a gloriously brutal yet liminal space with a rooftop bar to die for. I had never heard of Abd el-Kader but his role within the history of Algiers and Frances relationship with Arabic Nations was being rethought and represented in a more positive light, possibility part of France's attempt at the decolonization of collections.The Frac had an acutely observed show of work by Catherine Melin. I loved the video of children playing within their own worlds and the inflating and deflating of bags used for the transportation of textiles in markets talked of migration and homelessness in such a moving way. The Fric, possibly one of my favorite art spaces had a highly considered and solid show about mimicry - stand outs include the dark yet humerus Grey Area - videos of a person creatively hiding in office spaces by Sofia Hulten. It started out funny then all I could think about were mass shootings and terrorism.  Then there was the tremendous phasmides by Daniel Steegman - a video involving 'stick insects'. I remember as a child buying these in a pet shop and playing with them at home - in the shop it was always interesting to try and spot them in the tank stick-yes-no-yes-no-insect-no-yes-stick! Getting down to Valence on the TGV is a reminder of the joys of travel and the physical connectedness of Europe. The train was beautifully designed, clean, neat, on time and going onto to Luxembourg! The latest show at imprints of Tilman Hoepfl is at one in the space, the work, shadows and walls becoming one and evolving as the light animated the space throughout the day. There is a fabulous exhibition of photography at the art center in Crest with beautiful hand tinted prints from the 1890s that evoke a sense of timeless. This is compounded because of its context because I approached the show after spending the morning in the market, an experience that is SO French it's difficult to comprehend or explain. The wall of cheese smell is almost physical, fruit and veg so fresh and the community bonding through the love of quality good food is intoxicating. Sunday was a busy day - French flea market, clearing a friends house, cycling to a gig up a mountain to see cow bones (a band) - Billy Childish meets Art Brute infused with industrial noise wearing hand made/stitched masks - most excellent. In the mountains on the way down with the skies evolving around us from the usual deep blue in the valley was an astounding experience. All that was left of the day was to eat barbecue ribs and drink. Next day the  fresh sheets of mini ravioli and asparagus for lunch before unraveling the journey back - TGV, bus, plane and car was a reminder to return.

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showingstuffoff

The display in the window of the bookartbookshop looks fab. It's up for a couple of weeks if you are in Hoxton. I love that the photos are a mixture of the angular structures and the buildings opposite. The pieces are from a range of contexts including NanoDTC in Cambridge, Parallel practices with the crafts council, synthetic anatomy at Kings and general studio work. New 3D printed works are shown alongside pieces created from more more traditional sculptural materials including plaster, wax, paper and cardboard. 

sharingthelearning

An extraordinary day at Kings. The Knowing through Making conference was such a positive day. It was a great opportunity to share some of the experiences I have had from my engagement with the synthetic anatomy module and my general engagement with the world of science. Working in this world and creating and giving the talk was, as ever a joy. Constructing and presenting a talk is always a learning experience, an opportunity of reflection on the amazing journey I have had with my association and collaborative within the science world. I always feel welcome and what I bring from the world of 'art school' thinking is valued highly. Running the 3 workshops with Celia Pym was most excellent, I think we gave a flavor of the student experience to the conference delegates through presentations and especially the workshops. https://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/knowing-through-making-les-bicknellppt link is to the presentation, although the many gifs embedded within the talk don't animate on the platform. Images from one of the workshops show the need of the groups to work intimately in collaboration.