magicalspaces

So Venice Biennale was, as ever most excellent. I can never get over the fact that Venice is there just as I left it.... Where to start - it all begins when you get on the water taxi from the airport, arriving in this exciting way to the magical space of Venice is my favourite journey ever. Entering the canals from the choppy waters through the fortified external wall of the city and emerging in the Grand Canal is truly wondrous. Between then and getting back to the airport the time was spent with 3 days of art with time for eating and drinking after hard core experiencing. So much to say but highlights of the National pavilions for me were Marco Fusinato in the Australian just gloriously brutal. Yunchul Kim in the Korean space was awe inspiring art informed by science. The main exhibition had some beautiful paintings by Chiara Enzo and The Sex Robot video of Sidel Meineche Hansen had images of which will stay in my head for a long time. The monumental industrial narrative that was created for the Italian space was reminiscent of childhood wanderings through abandoned factories. Day two at the Arsenale is always a marathon, like joining 4 or 5 Tate's together. The historical work’s highlights were the medical models of Aletta Jacobs and Anna Coleman Ladd. The curated section had some gems that I am still thinking about – to name a few the graphic images of Beklis Ayon,  Egle Budvytyte’s video exploring our relationship to the environment, the startling paintings of Felipe Baeza and Pinaree Sanpitak, the smell of Delicy Morelos’s soil installation, Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe’s striking prints, the disturbing video by Zheng Bo with men and the forest, the giant symbols by Solange Pessoa, Joanna Piotrowska’s seemingly domestic yes other photographs, Carolyn Lazard’s reimagining of objects, Luyang’s animated future, dogs on the loose in the video of Janis Rafa, the haunting video by Diego Marcon, and there is always Barbara Kruger. There was so much textile activity on display, a way for the artists to talk of globalization, capitalism, workers’ rights, and sexual politics among other issues. The Philippines had some excellent ikat weaving alongside sound pieces, resembling the noise of the looms the work was made on. Day three is about collateral events, which gives you the opportunity to walk through the city between extraordinary venues which is always wonderful. I can’t wait till the next time.

booksforjubilant!

The books for the jubilant! project arrived - l have to say that they look great, the pages flow and the students work is something special, so proud of them. The book has captured the project wonderfully – the students loved them too. After a busy morning, first at the food museum  to look at the garden exhibition there, then onto Red Stables where the frames are now in the space waiting for the celebration and sharing at the weekend. Onto screens - STILL – A Gecko Film is truly beautiful – my eyes filled as the woman dances with her hands after playing with a blanket and the balloon sequence is gloriously mad – most excellent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJTL5Lcag1U&t=763s&ab_channel=Gecko

 

almostframed

The work with Jubilant! is going well – we had another good session at Stowuplands High School before we hang the work at Red Gables next week. It was full of great moments and conversations. I’ve worked at Stowupland High School over the past month mainly outside with Colin Ley from Red Gables. We have been working together with pupils to envisage the possibilities of a area adjacent to the school. The space is 65m x 57m with a barrow shape created with spoil from the building of tennis courts approximately 2m in height that runs East West to the North of the space. It has a range of vegetation covering the space - grasses, sedges, and plants. We set out to investigate and question the space to help us understand and map it. Focusing on the senses we experienced what the space felt, sounded, and smelt like as well as looking closely. The investigation included practical concerns including testing soil ph. levels, developing alternative measurements of the space itself and counting how many blades of grass are growing in the space. The idea was that by mapping what is there we could determine what could be. Some of the process is included in a small booklet which acts as a manual for future development of the space. We made a set of frames, inspired by the work of the Boyle Family, who have been making their Earth Pieces since 1976. The system they created to establish their working practice uses a framing device to enable them to determine what and how to view the world. The frame acts as a form of contract with the viewer. It offers a moment of reflection, to stop and breath, something we all need at this moment in time. The viewer is gifted the time to contemplate the world we live in; the frame organizes our thinking and supports our viewing. We know the world exists beyond the frame, but in a moment of stillness we can gather our thoughts, refreshed to go back into the world we came from. I’m interested in developing work that leaves space for the viewer, to enable them to stop and reflect. Framing the changing landscape means that every individual interaction with the work is unique, the space itself becomes the work.  The New Designers exhibition trade show was hung on Monday, the NUA Textile Design course stand looked good, I get to go on Saturday, spend time on the stand and take the work down. Meanwhile onto screens, His House – demonstrates the shocking lack of care in the immigration system. Love & Gelato – fluffy feel good. Spiderhead – twisted and spiteful. The Man from Toronto – has its moments. Deep into the unnerving Midwich Cuckoos series – disturbingly freaky.

tattoosandanewproject

The next set of tattoos with the wonderful @jims_skins – really pleased with the way these lines work with the hand. Working on a great project with Stowupland Secondary School and Red Gables through Jubilant! Looking at the potential of an adjacent space to the school. We are asking lots of questions to map and measure what is there to determine what could be. The book that is being created as part of the project's legacy is developing and will be a great manual for future conversations. A night at Snape to watch Anna Lapwood playing an organ on the stage - a rare occurrence. I loved her talking about the idea of 'voicing the organ' to the space and her interpretation of Britten's Four Seasons Interludes was fascinating. Also had the chance to check out again Laurence Edward's work around the site which is always a pleasure. Meanwhile onto screens watched The Lazarus Project which was full of complicated time travel rules - back into Better Call Saul with season 6 which is both dark and complicated. Just finished Jarvis Cocker's book Good Pop Bad Pop - it's a gentle ramble through some easy going reminiscing. 

jabjabjabbutstillitcomes

After 2 years of careful rule following, of mask wearing, of hand washing, of social distancing, of jab, jabbing, and jabbed I have had over a week, so far of covid. Whilst wiping out the whole week of work this has meant quite an impressive 4-day headache, a colossal sore throat and among other things has lead to a loss of taste, general woozyness and weakness. How did my eyes get to ache? But in the positive column a by-product of sleeping outside in the day has been the beginning of a summer tan and in the last couple of evenings an easing of symptoms but an inability to sleep has meant I have read and read. The Go-Between: A Portrait of Growing Up Between Different Worlds by Osman Yousefzada an interesting and slightly reminisce led book of a childhood that wasn't mine but returned me to another time. The parallel experience of the Asian children of my youth is exposed in a thoughtful and open way. https://www.anothermag.com/design-living/13904/the-go-between-osman-yousefzada-book-review-author-interview-202 The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World, the story of Rudolf Vrba's life by Jonathan Freeland was told with exquisite precision. What an extraordinary life. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/books/2022/jun/08/the-escape-artist-by-jonathan-freedland-review-the-first-jews-to-escape-auschwitz Reading it has meant that I went on to watch episode 20 of World at War, reliving the fear I felt as a child, the burning faces within the opening titles. Whilst it was fascinating to see a man whose life I had just read about living and talking the death camp footage was as shocking as the day I first saw it and images of men marching through streets with burning torches, and the talk of purity and nationalism had a disturbing resonance. So, then there is the obvious move onto rereading Primo Levi's If This is a Man, more detail of pain and human degradation but also strength. Onto screens - Coda, a beautiful feel-good story, smart, clever, and funny. Bull, a brutal revenge tale with a twisting reveal, wince inducing and a little traumatizing. Meddler, a tale of loss and connection, sad and yet warming. Hustle, Adam Sandler is on a roll, fast paced and believable, especially enjoyed the travel montage. Chivalry – the tone of the series sometimes feels random, each episode feels almost separate from the next - there is a handbrake turn of a direction in episode 3 - the whole thing pervades a sense of unease and discomfort - which I think is the point. Fresh – it has comedy thriller on the box but I struggled to find laughs with the level of oppressive activity, the central premise is a believable, interesting internet niche market idea but ultimately sad and dark.

todayortomorrow

I have a flag in Saxmundham High Street – as part of celebrations artstation invited a few people to design and submit a design https://theartstation.uk/event/sax-flags/ …t a couple of interesting local show – Brian Dawn Chalkley at The Cut was a joy and a surprise https://thecut.org.uk/events/brian-dawn-chalkley/ The show at Snape as part of this years festival was good - Paul Benney, Laurence Edwards and Kiki Smith have some work dotted around the space. Laurence has a couple of very special new pieces that are really worth the trip to the space; a boat/fence/bodies hybrid piece and a small body trapped in a eel trap.Onto screens – Interceptor was what it says on the tin - So to Pistols - Danny Boyle is responsible for another travesty but for a different reason. Brexit was obviously his fault as his excellent direction of the Olympic ceremony convinced us to go through with the illusion of Brexit by creating a glorious fantastical fairy-tale Britain where we believed we were more important than we actually were and of course doing it all on our own without the support of others or underpinned by our dark history of slavery and colonialism ....at its best Pistols is punk panto when it's not unnecessarily dallying with art school knob twiddling video techniques, seemingly as a way of attempting to gain relevance.....oh well.

foldedpharmacology

Working with some articulated cardboard structures redesigned, with a new intention, this time looking to explore the complex world of receptor pharmacology. The body is a truly amazing thing - actions as a result of actions.