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!

images for a proposal

tattooed arm

black and white heat photographs 

proposal sketch

bubble chamber

 bubble chamber

sunseesky21degrees

Two days in Malaga to catch some sun and blue sky - wonderful - managed to see some interesting work in galleries and museums in between soaking up the sun in outdoor restaurants and bars. The Centre Pompidou Málaga was excellent - 2 large exhibitions - Place-ness - artists examining the role of place in their practice. Organised in thoughtful chapters with much to read and think about in terms of concepts around public space and who owns it. Standout pieces include work by Studio 5.5, Ian Hamilton Finlay and Micea Cantor. The other show, an overview of Carlos Raul Villanueva's plans for working with artists were explored and presented superbly - the work of Jesus-Raphael Soto was awesome, with many of my current concerns engaged with and I spent a good 10 minutes with one piece - Black and white egg by Andre Bloc trying to work out how and what in terms of it's making, a masterful piece of modernism. Museo Carmen Thyssen is a glorious space, a restored moorish palace, and tremendous bookshop. Naked, the main show of nudes was good, full of excellent craftsmanship but the collection itself is fairly mad, with some great Old Master Romantic Portraits and landscapes in the 'Spanish' style. Málaga museum has loads to offer, giving a full history lesson of the place, also well displayed odd stuff. But mainly sitting, eating and drinking outside in the sun and warmth, often till 12 at night was most excellent.

yarnandstuff

I’ve been thinking about this idea for a while – since a good friend of mine commented that my tattoos were a lot like threads. More work to be done. Onto screens – Finally finished Day of the Jackal – lots of plot gaps (how did he get away?) - anyway - all set up for season 2 I guess. Joy – straightforward linear narrative. Have a Nice Day – anime slow and then fast. Wild Robot – a tale of beautiful loss. Family Man – a Christmas gem. Anora – a tense ride but really worth it. A real pain – just blew me away – amazing set-up that was beautifully tragic. Just started Black Doves – intriguing premise slowly unfolding.