foldfoldedfold

Working on the latest iteration of folded structures that explore the processes around receptor pharmacology. Thinking about the physical possibilities of working with affordance forces, multiple connections, and cause and effect. How to make the structure out of a single sheet of material, eventually creating a template that could be emailed. Meanwhile screens – Five days at Memorial is a relentless story of misguided misery. Words on Bathroom walls is a relentless story of mental health. Funny Pages is a relentless tale of the oddness of the teenage search for independence. Stay the night is a relentless tale of opposites attract and has a beautifully scripted conversation in a bar about burgers that is not about burgers.

foldingmusic

I've spent the week mainly working on a new suite of folded structures for the show at the station in Saxmundham. The pieces are based on a range of ideas but the focus is materiality and that the pieces look good as 3D sculptural structures. During all this folding I've been playing a lot of tracks as a result of listening to and then researching Lisa Tarbuck's playlist. She has a fantastically eclectic interest but her taste is always impeccable, especially Reggae and old school Soul and RnB. - some tracks to start with

Marie Laforêt - Et Si Je T'aime https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFeoX4NNdJM

Nuyorican Soul - It's Alright, I Feel It (feat. Jocelyn Brown)

I DO - Pull It

The Box Tops - The Letter

Johnny Restivo - The Shape I'm In

Boozoo Bajou & Tony Joe White - Keep Going

Don Convay - Everything I Do Goin' Be Funky

Peaches & Herb - Shake Your Groove Thing

The Delfonics - Ready Or Not Here I Come

Resonators - Sweet Love Affair

meanwhile some films - American Pickle - the tonal shifts within the film are a challenge - unsure about where the humour is aimed at although I did laugh. Summerland - was very clean but had some interesting ideas and indeed acting within it. Project Power - oh dear, although maybe it wasn't that bad.....was it? The Puzzle - a calm yet surprisingly stirring film, the underlying currents are very powerful.

foldingyoga

Working on some initial book/folding ideas that have their starting point within the one-sheet-of-paper rule and informed by the meditation space within the Yoga class I take (I know that one is supposed to empty the mind but it's a great space to 'explore and solve, meditate 360 degrees on' an issue). Meanwhile - the film of the beautiful book by Ian Mcewan On Chesil beach is mainly oppressive until it becomes sad - but it looks beautiful. Extinction has a great 10 minute film deeply hidden somewhere within the very long 95 minute experience. Late to the party but am deep in Atlanta at the moment - truly disturbing heart wrenching watching. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_(TV_series)

cuttingcardandstickingart

starting next to a pool and continuing in my studio the thinking around Goldlay Square is becoming focused - there is still a lot of flexibility in the choice and the proposed construction will enable the making to be creative up to the last moment

anewformofsitting

almost a whole day of hand cutting paper to get an idea of potential shadows in what I am now calling proto crystal seating structures - no not really. Reminds me of Bruce McLean's work - Pose Work for Plinths but possibly more casual!

paperfoldingpaper

a day of paper folding - going through the folders of structures initially created in the unpicking and rebinding project connecting ideas - exploring how the patterns are affected by being printed and then folded within the 3D structures. some films - The Great Wall http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2034800/?ref_=nv_sr_1 oh that's what the wall is for! madness but I loved the styling of the whole thing, especially the manga references of the Female Commander. Elvis and Anabelle http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0787462/?ref_=nv_sr_1 a beautiful love story 'against all odds', even death.  Krisha http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4266638/?ref_=nv_sr_1 billed as a comedy - it is so not - but it is an interesting take on portraying dysfunction and confusion. Toni Erdmann http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4048272/?ref_=nv_sr_7 it's important to stay with it as the glacial pace is a key element of exploring the spaces between us.

formalfoldingnarrative

continuing to work on folding and creative angles from two positions - formal structures with symmetry and platonic solids and random shapes with the addition of cutting - You the Living - the second part of the trilogy from Roy Andersson is another bleakly beige collection of seemingly unconnected narratives. It really is stunning - Anna played by Jessika Lundberg has a dream sequence after marrying lead singer of a rock band Micke Larsson is truly heart retching and beautiful.  There are so many references and layers to the film that you could watch it over and over with history, politics and art in mind and the connections woven within the films in the trilogy are often slight yet sharp.

foldedenlightenment

an evening that was both entertaining and educational – well actually more inspirational – the Boulez show at Snape https://tickets.aldeburgh.co.uk/Online/2015-festival-boulez-improvisations was quite excellent - a great idea for a way of exploring a life – moving screens, translation of sound and image, music and words projected, voices, live footage, - it was all there – I’ve always thought that performances of music and words might benefit from visuals and there it was …….Boulez explained the idea of creating systems to explore and play music – I loved the phrase – random and obliged in terms of playing choice.

Returning to folding – looking at the idea of developing systems to create large sheets of folded material. This is using both a modular approach – many similar individual elements interconnected and also working within the purity of one sheet - starting with a very large sheet and ending with a substantial smaller piece.

betweenanideaandanobject

thinking, reading and working on the idea of the model – the ‘middle point’ between  an idea and an object – not quite a thing yet it is more than a thought. The model can be altered, changed or somehow fulfilled by the idea of context – by the addition of another thought – an intention or an imposition.  The folding/lazer cutting has sculpture and architecture in mind linking simultaneously with the idea of tools for the hand.

Meanwhile lots of watching in the evenings – slightly obsesses by House of cards and Orange is the new black, although Netflix’s new Silverlight upgrade has temporarily disabled my use of their service – thank you Netflix. An offbeat film to recommend is Lars and the real girl – a wonderful life affirming tail of love, community and loss – beautiful http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0805564/ Ryan Gosling is quite magnificent in a sad broken but utterly believable kind of way..

multifunctionalfoldedspaces

the display in Bristol looks good - I like the idea that Sarah will continually rearrange the pieces in the space - this is the core of the idea - the multiple narratives created through the manipulation. http://www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/les-bicknell.htm

meaninglesswarfolding

well after the appalling corporate meaningless non thing that was the ticketed torch party in the park it was a joy to walk down to Ipswich town hall and enter the world of http://www.switchfringe.co.uk/ the fire night was an alternative – and it was - ypsmael http://ypsmael.com/ and tonesucker http://www.onoma.co.uk/tonesucker.html    were highlights. tonesucker felt like all-out music as war – most excellent.

the event in the park really was bad – i am struggling to remember something so insidious. it was devoid of anything meaningful - this was apart from the interventions of real people presenting real experiences – Aldeburgh music and Dance east – this session stood out as having something to say about or at least connect to Olympic ideals - how is it possible to get something so wrong?

anyway today is all about digital folding - I have managed to secure TESS funding from nuca to support smocking is evil research and I’m working on the images for the windows for the imago gallery show in September.

puttingthingstogether

started to put together the display of my work for the repeat show at nuca – testing the layout under the glass – making the public unable to touch or manipulate the pieces will be an interesting experience for me to undergo.
the flyer looks good - the typography I designed for the title has been used and the publicity department have followed the general lay out i proposed – unfortunately the image of my work has been printed on a 90 degree rotation to its original – but it now looks unsettlingly interesting.
the day at nuca has been about focusing the students minds around the time they have left and the work they need/want to do – http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/dates-to-go

assessmentfolding

still deep into assessments at nuca – now into week three – some really interesting work – some not – onto the draft reports from year 3 - reflecting on what 400 hours of work looks like and if I had a less fragmented life what 400 hours of my work life would look like or maybe the fragmentation feeds each aspect of what i do. spent the day developing more complicated folding for the repeat show and my research in general. tonight off to see Langlands and Bell in Ipswich at UCS after a weekend of film - departures https://owa.nuca.ac.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1069238/ a truly beautiful life affirming film about death and of course life

crossfoldedfertilization

working on a number of projects at the moment and enjoying the cross fertilization between them - the folding structures for the show at nuca titled repeat which were Informed by the work for the exhibitions Modified Expression and Between You and Me are feeding the cover design for journey to the podium and that work has connections to the big book for firstsite.
meanwhile fresher’s week at nuca saw me running a session around group work and problem solving – as ever the images don’t really show where the work happened – the glorious conversations between the students - https://net.nuca.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=17467
Modified expression - the show organised by Kilkenny Arts Festival is being toured by The Crafts Council of Irelands National Craft Gallery The tour dates are Tallaght Library, Dublin: Oct 21 – Nov 26 2011 and Galway City Museum: Dec 2011 – May 2012. I have a body of work in the show which was in response to the new poems of Gerard Smyth.